BALTIMORE _ The Ravens have reached an agreement on a contract extension with Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Peters, the team announced Saturday, rewarding a well-traveled but talented playmaker who's helped transform the team's defense.
The extension is reportedly a three-year deal through 2021 worth $42 million, including $32 million guaranteed. The contract also would pay Peters $20.5 million in its first year, according to ESPN.
Peters, a two-time All-Pro pick who turns 27 next month and was set to hit free agency this offseason, has re-emerged as one of the NFL's top cornerbacks following a midseason trade. He has returned three interceptions for touchdowns this season, two with the Ravens, and sealed a win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 14 with a last-minute deflection on fourth down.
Peters' ascent has coincided with that of the Ravens defense. When the Ravens acquired him from the Los Angeles Rams in mid-October for linebacker Kenny Young and a 2020 fifth-round pick, he was rated Pro Football Focus' No. 15 cornerback; he's since risen to No. 3.
Starting with Peters' debut win in Week 7, which included a pick-six against the Seattle Seahawks' Russell Wilson _ the Pro Bowl quarterback's first interception of the season _ the Ravens' defensive efficiency has improved from No. 22 to No. 4, according to Football Outsiders.
Peters has five interceptions this season, three with the Ravens, and 14 passes defended. Since entering the NFL in 2015, he has an NFL-high 27 interceptions and seven defensive touchdowns. Peters' six interceptions for touchdowns tie Pro Football Hall of Fame selection Lem Barney for the second most ever by a player in his first five seasons. Only Ken Houston (nine), another Hall of Fame member, had more.
"You really don't know until a guy gets into your locker room and into the defensive meetings, of how football smart they are," defensive coordinator Don "Wink" Martindale said of Peters last month. "He is a savant when it comes to playing corner and routes and everything else.
"That's been really refreshing, because as I've said many times, knowledge is power in this league. And you can see with his play that he has a lot of knowledge, and that's what has jumped out the most to me."
The Ravens are Peters' third team since the Kansas City Chiefs drafted him No. 18 overall in 2015. Kansas City traded him and a sixth-round pick in March 2018 to the Los Angeles Rams for a fourth-round pick in 2018 and a second-round pick in 2019. The Rams traded him a year and a half later.
