THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- The collegiate suspension, the one-game punishment and, more recently, the peculiarly timed trade have ignited apprehensions about Marcus Peters' character. The All-Pro cornerback -- then a Chief, now a Ram -- anticipates the concern and even welcomes the line of questioning. He'll tell you his prior outbursts are rooted in competitiveness; that he's still so young and that eventually he will learn. Sometimes, though, the rhetoric seeps into perceived off-the-field concerns for a player with a spotless legal record, and that's when Peters pushes back.
"Perception," Peters scoffed. "Y'all throw 'perception' on it and it becomes reality for you guys until y'all get to know us."
During Wednesday's news conference from the Los Angeles Rams' practice facility, the phrase "off-the-field concerns" was incorrectly used as part of a question about Peters' prior on-field outbursts and the perceived risks his new team inherits.
"No disrespect," Peters said, "but what 'off the field'?"
He wanted to make a point, and later, he elaborated on it colorfully.
"I just don't like when m-----f-----s -- excuse my language."
He paused.
"I don't like when m-----f-----s talk about me and they say that [I have] off-the-field issues because, I mean, I can be sitting here and I can be getting DUIs, and I can be getting all arrested and stuff. I can get arrested and I can have a mugshot, and I don't have that burden on me. It's cool, because I don't really care because at the end of the day, I go home, sit back with my family, and that's who I'm really chilling with. That's it."
The Rams aren't worried about any off-field issues with Peters, and they seemingly aren't worried about on-field ones, either. In a span of 13 days, running from late February to early March, they acquired Peters from the Kansas City Chiefs and Aqib Talib from the Denver Broncos, both of whom were formally introduced on the first day of the new league year.
Talib brings a similarly fiery personality as Peters, but one that has been refined by age.
He's 32, seven years older, and he's here partly to ensure that Peters' emotions are channeled in the right places.
"Marcus will follow me," Talib said. "He'll see how professional I am in that building as far as on this team, as far as how I put my work in. I think it'll rub off on him. It'll help him."
Talib and Peters have combined for seven Pro Bowl invites and are a big reason why the Rams might now have the NFL's best secondary. Peters, 25, leads the NFL with 19 interceptions since 2015. Talib, a Pro Bowler each of the past five seasons, ranks second with 34 interceptions since 2008. There will not be a proverbial No. 1 corner among them. They'll each stick to one side of the field because the Rams believe they can each match up with any receiver.
"They're probably going to piss me off a lot this offseason, getting picks from us in practice and things like that," Rams coach Sean McVay said. "But I'm very excited to have them, and they'll clearly make us better on the back end."
The Rams are taking on some risks with the personalities, but ones they seem to feel a certain sense of security about.
"When you do this, you vet these guys," Rams general manager Les Snead said, "and I can say this -- you continually heard the respect from their teammates, the passion they have for football, how important football and winning is to these gentlemen. That was very important to us. Football is what we do."
Talib was suspended twice by the NFL during his four seasons with the Broncos, first for poking Dwayne Allen in the eye in 2015 and then for fighting Michael Crabtree in 2017. But teammates and coaches have consistently raved about the discipline and the dedication he demonstrates toward football.
Peters was thrown off his collegiate team at Washington for an altercation with an assistant coach, then was suspended by the Chiefs this past December for tossing an official's penalty flag into the stands. He has been seen barking at coaches and jawing at fans, and the Chiefs grew so tired of Peters that they decided to trade him while he was still young, cheap and great.
When they put him on the market, they got very little interest outside of the Rams.
"Everything comes with growth," Peters said of toeing the line with his emotions. "What were you doing at 25? Probably some stuff that your mom and pops and some other people probably wouldn't agree with. But all you do is you take it with a grain of salt and you keep pushing. You always learn from your mistakes; you don't blame nobody for your mistakes. You sit there and you take it on your own, you stand tall, and you have fun with it. Because at the end of the day, that's life. It's ups and downs, man. It's a beautiful journey, and all you have to do is enjoy it."
Peters believes he'll enjoy it with the Rams. He'll play for renowned defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, whom Talib will emphatically vouch for from his time in Denver, and he'll play for the 32-year-old McVay, who understands what it's like to be young in the league. Just as important, though, he'll play in his home state, about 350 miles from his roots in Oakland.
"It's a 50-minute flight for my family to get here," Peters said. "If I ever feel like I want somebody to be here, it's easy."
Talib and Peters don't know each other well, but they share a connection through their bond with Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch. As part of his research, Snead learned Peters was an intelligent man who loves football, hates losing and owns the respect of his teammates. On Talib, Snead said, "you quickly found out he was well respected; a leader."
Perhaps one who will help the Rams get the most out of Peters.
"I want to win so much that, yeah, sometimes I'm going to get pissed off -- but it's going to help when I've got an older guy like this," Peters said, pointing at Talib to his right. "He's been through it. He made the transition to multiple teams, and he handled it well every time. It's no off-the-field issues. On the field, I can downsize it a lot. It's going to help when I've got a young coach who's very understanding."