A triumphant Marcus Peters on the Chiefs: 'I miss those guys'

LOS ANGELES — Marcus Peters jogged off the L.A. Memorial Coliseum field grinning and shirtless, his shoulder pads and a white jersey under his arm.

The jersey was not his own. It belonged to Peters’ former teammate with the Kansas City Chiefs, star receiver Tyreek Hill. The two had swapped jerseys after Peters and the Los Angeles Rams prevailed 54-51 in an instant classic on Monday Night Football that perfectly summed up this new, offense-friendly era of the NFL.

“I felt like Marcus will always be my brother,” Hill explained. “He was here for the Chiefs. We had some good times, we had some bad times. But at the end of day, we both got better. And to play against him, it was fun, man, all laughs and smiles.”

The 25-year-old Peters, who was traded to the Rams this offseason, spent the first three years of his career in Kansas City, where he was a two-time Pro Bowl and All-Pro selection. A volatile 2017 campaign, marked by a suspension and sometimes-combustible behavior, led to the Chiefs’ decision to deal him this offseason.

Peters said after the trade that he expected to intercept the Chiefs’ new starting quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, and win when the teams squared off this season. And on Monday night, both came to pass, as Peters picked off Mahomes late in the fourth quarter on a pass that was thrown right to him.

“I got hit and the ball came out funny and Marcus made a great play on it,” Mahomes said. “I’m not happy he picked me off, but I’m happy he’s still having success.”

Peters, for his part, enjoyed it too. Aside from a moment where he appeared to get in Mahomes’ face after a play — it was later clarified that he was trying to pull him up. In addition to swapping jerseys with Hill, Peters also embraced Chiefs coach Andy Reid in a long hug after the game and spoke wistfully about his ex-teammates.

“The best thing about this is that I got to see my teammates and I got to see my old coaches and stuff,” Peters said. “I miss those guys. Really, honestly, I miss those guys. When you’re a part of an organization like that and you go in and you’re a part of a locker room, you understand how it feels to be around some people, but you still have love for them. I wish those guys nothing but success.”

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