Mellinger: Marcus Peters is gone. The Chiefs have some explaining to do.

[DaFace]

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt...201907719.html

Marcus Peters is gone. The Chiefs have some explaining to do.

BY SAM MELLINGER
smellinger@kcstar.com
February 23, 2018 07:27 PM

Clark Hunt, Andy Reid and Brett Veach deserve an opportunity to explain, because as it stands right now they have cloaked their franchise with failure.

That word is not used without thought. That word is not used without intent.

The Chiefs on Friday agreed to trade Marcus Peters to the Rams, reportedly for draft picks. Without hearing from the men who made this decision, the explanation that makes the most sense is one lacking in guts, ambition, commitment to success, and realism.

A difficult situation presents itself, and the Chiefs hit the eject button.

Starting with Reid being hired and paid more than any NFL coach who has not won a Super Bowl, the Chiefs have branded themselves as a place for second chances, where strong personalities are welcomed and supported.

Here, then, they failed with their strongest-willed and one of their best players. This was supposed to be their edge. Let players show their personalities. Get the most out of them. Except with Peters, the Chiefs failed to do it, apparently allowing the situation to become so untenable they traded him without a strong market of interest.

Again, Hunt, Reid, and Veach should be allowed to explain. This has all the markings of the Chiefs pushing Peters out, but there is always a chance the trade return was so overwhelming the Chiefs couldn’t resist. So these words are an initial reaction, not the final judgment. Still, the following is true:

Peters plays one of the most important non-quarterback positions in football, creates more turnovers than anyone else in the league, and just turned 25 in January with a year left on his rookie deal plus up to three more years of club control.

And he’s gone. For what?

The Chiefs traded a cheap, young star at a premium position despite the limited leverage of just two teams interested.

Why?

For draft picks? So they have an opportunity to select Peters’ replacement? That’s not the action of a successful franchise.

That’s the action of a franchise with more blown leads than wins in playoff games.

One more time, maybe there is a better and more sensible explanation, but here’s what it looks like at the moment: Hunt, who cowered when given the opportunity to stand up for his players’ rights last fall, wanted the headache gone.

He has been outspoken about wanting players to stand for the anthem, and talked Peters into staying in the locker room for the song. Hunt is a conservative man by nature, and it’s not a stretch to believe he wanted one of the NFL’s least conservative players off his team.

Because the other explanations don’t make as much sense.

The Chiefs want you to believe they are serious about winning and just traded one of their best players.

The Chiefs are trying to get younger and just traded a 25-year-old star.

The Chiefs’ secondary was awful last year and they just dumped (by far) their best cornerback.

The Chiefs retained a defensive coordinator who was exposed in 2017, deciding it was more about a lack of talent, and just shipped off one of the league’s most productive and dangerous defenders.

The Chiefs’ defense emphasizes creating turnovers, and they just traded the man who has created more turnovers than anyone else since he entered the league.

The Chiefs, in other words, have a disconnected vision of their future, or no serious expectations of success this season, or both.

Peters is not without his faults. Obviously. He is hyper competitive, which is his greatest strength right until the moment it becomes his greatest flaw. You don’t know when he’ll draw a personal foul, but you can expect at least a few every season.

Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters has lost his cool or done something that has resulted in a fine several times during the 2017 season. Neil Nakahodo, Pete Grathoff, David EulittThe Kansas City Star

Reid is by reputation one of the league’s great players’ coaches, and along with Terrell Owens, Peters is one of just two players Reid has suspended in 19 years. Peters’ protests during the national anthem angered a loud portion of the Chiefs’ fan base, and despite handing out turkeys and coats in Kansas City last year, the drama was never going fully away.

There is little doubt he was unhappy in Kansas City. Some of this was inevitable, because the player and his adopted home were so different. Peters could have asked to be traded, but his only leverage was a threat to sit out (which would mean not being paid, and not accruing service time toward free agency) or to not sign an extension (but the Chiefs could’ve controlled him for up to four more seasons).

The Chiefs were not against the clock here. They had time on their side.

The Chiefs could have supported the player, could have worked with the player. They could have found common ground. They could have defended the player against unfair public criticism, if that’s what it took.

Good organizations do that. The Chiefs traded the player. Organizations whose last Super Bowl appearance is old enough to be a grandfather do that.

One more time for the people in the back: Hunt, Reid, and Veach deserve the opportunity to explain. Chiefs fans deserve that, too. Maybe there is something that brings it all together.

But at the moment, only two explanations come to mind that make more sense than Hunt wanting the player out.

The first is that Peters had somehow become such a problem that he was breaking the locker room, and the organization made the advance decision to deal him now before he made more money and his trade value slipped.

That would have to account for the Chiefs players upset by the trade, require something much worse than what’s known so far, and be a tacit admission of failure by a coach hired in part because of his ability to get the best out of strong personalities.

The second apparent explanation would be that the Chiefs are fully embracing a rebuild, and selling off all valuable parts while they reset around quarterback Patrick Mahomes. If that’s the case, then more big trades should be expected.

There are varied holes in this logic, too, from the Chiefs having a good roster already to the NFL’s established history of teams winning with quarterbacks on rookie contracts.

But, at least it would be something.

At least it would be something that didn’t leave the sinking suspicion that the Chiefs just caved to the ugliest parts of their fan base and the weakest part of human nature by avoiding discomfort even as it sets them back competitively.

[Shields68]

Originally Posted by KCChiefsFan88

He a left a game thinking he had been ejected. Kelce has more personal fouls called against him than Peters.

And yelling and screaming at coaches on the sideline? Should Tom Brady be traded as well?



I am still waiting for you to list CONFIRMED actions that Marcus Peters has done that are as close to as bad as what Tyreek Hill did by beating his pregnant girlfriend.

Most teams can live with the yelling and screaming. Now if it was a physical confrontation that is a different story. The smart play might be to keep it under wraps, suspend him a game and not totally destroy his value and trade him. Some point we might find out.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Shields68

Most teams can live with the yelling and screaming. Now if it was a physical confrontation that is a different story. The smart play might be to keep it under wraps, suspend him a game and not totally destroy his value and trade him. Some point we might find out.

Peters' actions in most cases are inexcusable. The problem i have are underlying symptoms. People may not have liked the anthem stance. But did the fans handle it well? No. Did the team handle it well? They seemed more interested in punting than tackling it head on. Peters can't blow up on coaches like that. But did the coaches listen and how many times does reid have to get clowned and players be ok with it?

So I continue to ask... Sure, this led to a situation where we had no choice. But could it have been prevented if the team and fans acted differently. Maybe peters was bound to blow up. But I also think the team gets way too much credit as they could have handled this better too.

[FloridaMan88]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Peters' actions in most cases are inexcusable. The problem i have are underlying symptoms. People may not have liked the anthem stance. But did the fans handle it well? No. Did the team handle it well? They seemed more interested in punting than tackling it head on. Peters can't blow up on coaches like that. But did the coaches listen and how many times does reid have to get clowned and players be ok with it?

So I continue to ask... Sure, this led to a situation where we had no choice. But could it have been prevented if the team and fans acted differently. Maybe peters was bound to blow up. But I also think the team gets way too much credit as they could have handled this better too.

Agreed.

Winning teams find a way to make it work with high maintenance/talented players.

Teams that have one playoff win in 20+ years and haven't been to a Super Bowl in 40+ years do what the Chiefs just did with Marcus Peters.

[Red Dawg]

Originally Posted by KCChiefsFan88

Agreed.

Winning teams find a way to make it work with high maintenance/talented players.

Teams that have one playoff win in 20+ years and haven't been to a Super Bowl in 40+ years do what the Chiefs just did with Marcus Peters.

Bullshit. Did Piit make it work with Blount, no. Make it work with Harrison, no. Do the Pats make it work with mal-contents, no. They ship then all off to have cohesion and team work. Does anyone want Peters ****ing up shit for Mahomes first year leading the team? Of course not.

[Shields68]

Originally Posted by KCChiefsFan88

Agreed.

Winning teams find a way to make it work with high maintenance/talented players.

Teams that have one playoff win in 20+ years and haven't been to a Super Bowl in 40+ years do what the Chiefs just did with Marcus Peters.

Patriots plan seem to try and avoid taking them in the first place. If they end up with such a player to then ship them out as soon as possible. Granted Brady helps them to cover some of the problems but having head cases on the team is not a good long term strategy.

There is also a matter of degree. Andy seems willing to put up with a lot. Getting physical with a coach is not something you can work with. Continually being disruptive in practice and/or team meetings again is not workable. Unless your in the building it is hard to tell what if anything the Chiefs could have done.

[Sassy Squatch]

Bill Belicheck has made a career of shipping off malcontents and still generating the same results. Every once in a while he'll take a chance on guys like Haynesworth and Chad Johnson, but even those were cheap ass prove it deals.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Red Dawg

Bullshit. Did Piit make it work with Blount, no. Make it work with Harrison, no. Do the Pats make it work with mal-contents, no. They ship then all off to have cohesion and team work. Does anyone want Peters ****ing up shit for Mahomes first year leading the team? Of course not.

The pats brought in Harrison, Floyd, moss, Blount, etc... Knowing full well what baggage they were getting. I don't think you build a team around malcontents. But what exactly about the peters situation do you think the Chiefs managed it well, other than a blanket "reid has dealt with tough characters before"? I think it's fair to ask if from the top down we punted too many times on this

[RunKC]

You don’t need to believe SAUTO or doomy’s connections to see what the truth is.

The fact is that only one team truly wanted this kid and 4 former staff members on new teams did not show serious interest.

I know it’s hard to use your head to figure shit out instead of just blasting the Chiefs, but maybe, just maybe this mother****er is a terrible player to deal with and the entire league knows it.

[FloridaMan88]

Originally Posted by Superturtle

Bill Belicheck has made a career of shipping off malcontents and still generating the same results. Every once in a while he'll take a chance on guys like Haynesworth and Chad Johnson, but even those were cheap ass prove it deals.

JFC you are a dumbshit.

Randy Moss?

Aqib Talib?

James Harrison?

All high maintenance players Belichick has acquired over the years.

Belichick knows better than anyone that you don’t give up on talented/high maintenance players since he was Lawrence Taylor’s DC with the Giants when they won multiple Super Bowls.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by RunKC

You don’t need to believe SAUTO or doomy’s connections to see what the truth is.

The fact is that only one team truly wanted this kid and 4 former staff members on new teams did not show serious interest.

I know it’s hard to use your head to figure shit out instead of just blasting the Chiefs, but maybe, just maybe this mother****er is a terrible player to deal with and the entire league knows it.

Only two teams negotiated for Alex Smith that we know of. Does that make Alex Smith a terrible player? Or is it maybe that the trade market is usually limited to the few teams that are interested and believe they have a shot.

[RunKC]

“Winning teams find a way to make it work.”

Well isn’t that just ****ing dandy. So explain to the class why winning organizations like the Patriots, Steelers, Ravens and Seahawks didn’t talk to us about getting an all-pro corner on a cheap contract for a discount?

“Winning organizations” with stability of handling these types of players weren’t interested.

There’s your proof dumbasses

[cooper barrett]

Tyreek's GF/ baby momma is a ****ing nut job. I am not going to say she didn't provoke the situation, but the guy got a sweetheart of a deal from an OK court... and for a black guy who would set a precedent that OK doesn't go easy on DV charges, he was a poster child.

That says a lot to me that the facts may not be all true, only 2 people know but she's now on Tyreek's payroll so she's never discussing it until the paychecks quit coming....

She stated that she met multiple times with the prosecutor to make the SIS deal possible.

Originally Posted by KCChiefsFan88

He a left a game thinking he had been ejected. Kelce has more personal fouls called against him than Peters.

And yelling and screaming at coaches on the sideline? Should Tom Brady be traded as well?



I am still waiting for you to list CONFIRMED actions that Marcus Peters has done that are as close to as bad as what Tyreek Hill did by beating his pregnant girlfriend.

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Only two teams negotiated for Alex Smith that we know of. Does that make Alex Smith a terrible player? Or is it maybe that the trade market is usually limited to the few teams that are interested and believe they have a shot.

Alex isn’t an all-pro like Peters and he Had just been benched.

Nowhere near as valuable as what Peters value is right now.

[FloridaMan88]

Originally Posted by RunKC

“Winning teams find a way to make it work.”

Well isn’t that just ****ing dandy. So explain to the class why winning organizations like the Patriots, Steelers, Ravens and Seahawks didn’t talk to us about getting an all-pro corner on a cheap contract for a discount?

“Winning organizations” with stability of handling these types of players weren’t interested.

There’s your proof dumbasses

Wrong dumbshit.

There could by any number of reasons for why the teams you listed were not interested in trading for Peters... compensation, future salary cap considerations, etc.

But it most likely was not because they were afraid of taking on a high maintenance player because all of the teams you listed have won Super Bowls with high maintenance players.

[SuperBowl4]

Originally Posted by TripleThreat

You do not keep someone that doesn’t want to play for you or is causing a disruption with coaches. Period. You are pretending like you know/knew more than the chiefs office did which simply just isn’t true.

You say “they should have tried to work things out”. What gives you this impression that they haven’t been trying? Not many trade partners?? Hmm maybe That’s why thE chiefs traded him before it was too late? Maybe no one wants the nonfootball related problems he brings with himself.

In what way does this say the chiefs are spineless? It’s quite the opposite actually, they threw their huge dick on the table and said bye bye, we don’t take that shit around here...

Marcus Peters can take his gold shoes to Los Angeles. Kansas City was not a good fit for him. The kneeling during the anthem, the quitting and walking off the field during the GIANTS game, and him telling fans at ARROWHEAD to F.U.B., enough already. He ain't that good to put up with his S! Good Riddance MP.