In announcing the trade of cornerback Marcus Peters to the Rams, the Chiefs issued fairly basic quotes from G.M. Brett Veach and coach Andy Reid. Veach separately met with the media, and he elaborated on the decision to move on from the 2015 first-rounder and high-end defensive back.
Among other things, Veach was asked whether Peters, who participated in national anthem protests, would have been traded if he had stood for every national anthem.
“Yes, absolutely,” Veach said. “This was a football decision. Again, dialogue that Coach and I had. This wasn’t just one game, wasn’t a month, this was three years of body of work, and we look for consistency. We felt that this was in the best interest of the team. When you process all the information, they’re tough decisions but what you do is you just go. There’s no second guessing. You make a decision you believe in, you have foundations and core philosophies that you believe that yield success. You take all the information and then you go in that direction and you don’t look back.”
Veach also was asked whether Peters’ eligibility for an extension was a factor.
“You think of everything,” Peters said. “You think of games, practices, certainly cap. We’re all aware that he was one year, [$]1.7 [million and] an option of [$]9 [million]. That’s two years, [$]10.7 [million], potential of a franchise tag. All those factors. I think the moves that we’ve made over the last year shows that we’re very cap conscious and we know what we want to do in regards to building a roster and maintain flexibility throughout the course of a year, two years, three years. I think everything we do isn’t done for just one year. Even the deals we’ve done I think if you really look into the structure, everything provides flexibility. Every factor is taken into consideration.”
So was there a final straw with Peters?
“Again, it’s a cumulative deal where you just process all the information and it’s not one thing, it’s not a final straw, it’s really Coach and I sitting back and looking at everything,” Peters said. “We do this with all players, it’s not just Marcus. With Alex [Smith], tough decision. Derrick Johnson, tough decision. We just analyze the whole body of work for how long, the duration they were here and then we say, ‘OK, this is where we’re going and this is what needs to be done and you just go.'”
And go they did. And Peters is gone. And he’ll get a chance to play the Chiefs in Mexico City as a member of the Rams this season.