Perk for cornerback: Raiders fan dad will finally wear his jersey

The love for the Raiders runs particularly deep in the Peters home in Oakland.

Hence the limits to the support Michael Peters has had for his son Marcus, one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL over the last seven years.

“My pops ain’t never put on one of my jerseys,” Marcus Peters said Saturday.

It didn’t matter that the younger Peters was one of the most recognizable defensive players in the league, a virtual turnover machine for the Chiefs, Rams and Ravens. Or that Michael Peters, a renowned football coach at Oakland’s McClymonds High School, was beyond proud of his son’s accomplishments.

When it came to the uniform, Michael Peters drew a line in the sand. It was either Silver and Black or nothing.

That all changed two weeks ago when Marcus Peters agreed to contract terms with the Raiders.

It wasn’t just a full circle moment for Marcus, who grew up in the shadows of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum rooting for heroes like Charles Woodson, the cornerback he patterned his game after and whose No. 24 jersey he will now wear.

This is about the gift he gets to present to his father — a Raiders jersey with the Peters name on the back.

“Now he gets to put on one and feel proud about it,” Peters said.

This is much more than a quasi-homecoming, though. As the last few days of Raiders training camp have shown, the ball-hawking Peters adds an element of aggressiveness and swagger to a defense that has lacked both qualities for far too long.

Peters has two interceptions over the last two days, part of the nine picks the Raiders’ defense totaled Friday and Saturday.

While there is no denying the role that Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has played in some of those turnovers — he has looked downright bad at times in camp — it is also fair to point out that Peters and his defensive mates have done their part by attacking the ball.

“When the ball’s in the air, you gotta have the will to want to go get it,” said Peters, who has 32 career interceptions. “And I want to get it more than anyone else.”

That is exactly the reason the Raiders prioritized adding Peters, though the deal wasn’t complete until the eve of training camp.

“I’ve coached against him a number of times, and when you’re playing against him, you always know where he’s at, because there’s a chance you might not want to throw at him,” Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said. “And again, players earn that opportunity and earn that status, not coaches or anybody else. He’s just a very intelligent football player.”

Peters is determined to pass that onto his teammates.

“You gotta make sure it affects the whole locker room, and we all just do it as one unit,” he said. “And it’s gonna pay off for us.”

Now 30 years old and the senior member of a young secondary, Peters appreciates the mentorship role he is playing to youngsters like rookie Jakorian Bennett, who is getting the bulk of the starting snaps opposite Peters, and Nate Hobbs, who is playing primarily in the slot during camp after playing all last season on the perimeter.

He said it reminds him of his first few years in the NFL when veterans such as Eric Berry and Aqib Talib mentored him.

“That’s what football is about. You gotta pass the game down,” Peters said. “The game is only gonna get younger. And the (older players), there’s only gonna be a certain select few that are gonna be able to stick around. To see you pass down some game, and to see the youngsters go out there and put it to test, that’s the biggest blessing ever.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on Twitter.