The Ravens Hope Marcus Peters Can Help Their Struggling Secondary

The Baltimore Ravens' schedule becomes much tougher in the coming weeks. They made it through the first six games with a 4-2 record but injuries have decimated their secondary, and opposing quarterbacks have picked them apart at times.

That's why they made the trade with the Rams for cornerback Marcus Peters. The Ravens already have a shut-down corner in Marlon Humphrey, and Jimmy Smith should be back soon - he's been out since Week 1 with a knee injury - but add in Peters and Brandon Carr (who can also play in other spots), and Baltimore should be able to rotate four corners on a regular basis.

That's why the Peters trade was so crucial. He could wind up being the missing piece to the puzzle. With Smith and others out, the secondary was depleted, but going forward, things could look different - and the move for Peters is the first step.

"To me, he's one of the top corners in the league," Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said in a press conference earlier this week. "He plays the way we play. So, he fits in really well that way and gives us another weapon back there so we can do the things we want to do, defensively. That's what I'm excited about. We don't want to be hamstrung. We want to be able to play the way we want to play. He's going to help us do that."

The first test comes in Sunday's game against Seattle and quarterback Russell Wilson, who's been one of the best in the NFL so far this season.

If Peters can play, that gives Baltimore strong corners on both sides and will make life tougher for Wilson and the Seahawks. Last week, winless Cincinnati repeatedly attacked the corners playing on the side away from Humphrey and found plenty of success.

The Bengals threw numerous passes to the sideline and moved the ball. For this week, the question is how much Peters will play but when he's in there, it changes the dynamic. The return of Smith should help also.

"You can play man, you can play zone," Smith said on the team's website. "You can match up anybody. It makes our defense faster, more dangerous. Anything can happen at any point, then having a safety back there like Earl (Thomas III)? It could be a very, very dangerous thing."

That would be a big change from the first six games when the pass defense struggled several times. They've lost two players for the season, including veteran safety Tony Jefferson, and the addition of Peters plus the return of Smith could change things.

Coverage still will be tough if the Ravens cannot find a better pass rush, but if that remains the case, the team now has a new weapon.

Peters is in the final year of his contract, and he may not even be with the Ravens next year. But even if this is an audition, a strong performance from Peters should help the Baltimore defense perform more like they did in years past- and that would remove some pressure from quarterback Lamar Jackson and the offense.

In the end, GM Eric DeCosta made a bold move with this mid-season trade but it was the right one. This is an area where his team needed help, and DeCosta found it in a big way.