Marcus Peters’ West Oakland energy quickly spreading at Raiders training camp

HENDERSON, Nev. — Marcus Peters has been in the NFL for eight years and played for three teams.

And his dad has never worn his jersey.

“Because he is a Raiders fan,” Peters said after practice Saturday. “And now he gets to put one on.”

Peters, from Oakland, Calif., signed with the team he grew up rooting for just before the start of training camp.

“I was always a Raider,” he said. “It was something that was in me since I was a little kid. It feels good, you feel me?”

The cornerback has 32 career interceptions and joins a team that desperately needs someone who can give the offense the ball back. The Las Vegas Raiders only have 12 as a team the last two seasons combined.

Maybe it’s contagious. The Raiders defense has picked off Jimmy Garoppolo seven times in the last two days (three Saturday), and Peters had one of those Saturday and another earlier in the week.

“I play offense on defense,” Peters said. “I want to get the ball, and when the ball is in the air, you have to have the will and the want-to to go get it. And I want to go get it more than anyone else.

“We have to make sure that infects the whole locker room.”

Raiders want more turnovers this year, and that suits Peters just fine:
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) August 5, 2023

So far, so good. Besides Peters, cornerback Amik Robertson and safety Tre’von Moehrig had interceptions Saturday. Friday, it was rookie corner Jakorian Bennett, safeties Jaydon Grant and Isaiah Pola-Mao who ran off with the football.

Garoppolo’s uneven camp continued. He was fine in the seven-on-seven drills, but besides the four interceptions, he was also just 1-for-7 with three dropped picks in the 11-on-11 scrimmage that concluded practice.

Must be the defense …

“We want to play fast, we want to communicate and we want to show high effort,” Peters said. “And I think we’ve been doing that so far.”

Receiver Davante Adams has gone against Peters, and said ex-Chief, Ram and Raven knows what he is doing out there.

“Obviously, you got to be a smart player to be able to be on defense and catch the ball as many times as he has in his career,” Adams said last week. “It doesn’t just happen. … You’ve got to still come in and do the right things. But I’ve known Marcus for a long time. We’re not family, but we’ve kind of got the same family. So, I’ve been a fan of his game for a while.”

Peters also knows defensive end Maxx Crosby well, as they share the same agent and the way they approach the game.

“He’s an alpha,” Crosby said last week. “I love Marcus. I’ve known him since my rookie year … Marcus is my guy. Marshawn (Lynch) is his cousin, so yeah, Marcus is like family. I love Marcus, he brings that attitude that we need in the secondary, and I can’t wait to see him get out there and keep competing because he’s a dog for sure.”

The feeling is mutual.

“Maxx is one of those guys you want to play with,” Peters said. “He leaves it all out on the field and it shows.”

They also both want to win and make the younger players better.

Bennett has been Peters’ shadow the last two weeks, and Peters is enjoying his new role as the elder statesman and leader.

“They call me O.G. now,” Bennett said, smiling, “because I am the oldest in the group now. It’s cool. I was in that position once, and I had amazing vets in (Kansas City) when I was a rookie.

“That’s what football’s about. You have to be able to pass the ball down, because the game is only going to get younger, and there are only going to be a select few O.G.’s that stick around. It’s the biggest blessing ever.”

Oakland native Marcus Peters (right) has played for the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams and Baltimore Ravens. Now he gets to play for the team he grew up rooting for, the Raiders. (Peter G. Aiken / Getty Images)

Almost as big as when this original gangster thinks back to his childhood and being a Raiders fan. And now playing for that team (even if they moved to Las Vegas).

“Riding the BART train as a kid and seeing that stadium and the historical stuff going on,” Peters said. “It’s a blessing for a kid growing up in West Oakland to put on this jersey now.”

And Peters picked out a good jersey for his dad to wear now.

No. 24. Willie Brown, Charles Woodson, Lynch …

“(Woodson was) my favorite corner growing up,” Peters said. “Some people may say Deion (Sanders), but me being in C-Wood’s backyard … and hearing stories from my pops about how C-Wood would be out in the Oakland streets, chilling. Hanging out. That’s big. You feel me?

“It’s a blessing to rock a number that he wore.”

And that Peters’ dad can proudly rock as well.

(Top photo: Evan Habeeb / USA Today)