Raiders mailbag: Is Marcus Peters a good fit?

The Raiders wrapped up their offseason program this week. Now the waiting game begins for the start of training camp at the end of July.

The Raiders got a decent handle on their roster over the last two months, but questions remain as they contemplate whether to make any additions. Among them is the possibility of signing veteran cornerback Marcus Peters.

Meanwhile, Raiders fans have plenty of questions.

Here is a sampling of what arrived in this week’s mailbag.

Rob (@robert_mazzola): Is Marcus Peters going to sign?

VINCENT BONSIGNORE: The Raiders have danced a little bit with Peters, the Oakland native and veteran cornerback. Peters was in Las Vegas to meet with the club last month, and between the Raiders’ need at cornerback and Peters’ track record of success in creating turnovers with 32 career interceptions, the fit feels natural.

The Raiders wanted to get an up-close look at their rebuilt secondary during OTAs and minicamp, which includes a mixture of holdovers, free-agent additions and draft picks. And in Peters’ case, there was really no need or rush to sign that early in the NFL calendar.

Now that OTAs are over, the sense is the Raiders will take a long, hard look at whether to bring in Peters. That includes evaluating where he is at this point in his career. He’s now nearly two years removed from the knee injury he suffered that cost him the entire 2021 season.

Hard to classify this as a for-sure signing, but at the end of the day this feels like a logical fit. The educated guess is 60/40 the Raiders sign him.

Matt Berger (@matt_berger): When do you expect the Josh Jacobs contract to finalize, if it happens at all?

VB: The Raiders and their star running back, for whom they applied the franchise tag designation for the 2023 season, face a July 17th deadline to agree on a long-term contract extension. If not, Jacobs would be obligated to play this season on the terms of the tag, which is valued at $10.09 million. Of course, that is all predicated on Jacobs actually signing the franchise tag tender.

Lance (@lzjmiller): Will first-round draft pick Tyree Wilson be ready to go by training camp?

VB: That is the plan and expectation.

Tide (@WalkerLV2000): Do you think the Raiders can be a Top 10 offense and a Top 20 defense?

VB: The Raiders’ offense last year finished 12th in the NFL in scoring at 23.2 points per game, although that represented a fall-off from their placement in the top 10 earlier in the season. It’s part of the reason why Derek Carr was replaced at quarterback.

Maintaining a top-10 placement in 2023 is predicated on Jimmy Garoppolo staying healthy. If he can, the Raiders have a chance to dabble in that range. They have too many weapons, so it would be a disappointment if they don’t produce at that level.

But if Garoppolo gets hurt, all bets are off.

As for a top 20 defense, that seems ambitious. It would represent pretty much everything going right on that side of the ball. A realistic starting point would be a defense that falls somewhere between 20 and 23 in points allowed.

Griffin Shields (@GriffinShields3): Do you think Jacobs really would sit out with no long-term deal?

VB: Hard to imagine him wasting an entire season and not collecting $10.09 million — which is money he will never recoup — by sitting out. His best bet if he and the Raiders can’t agree on a long-term deal is to play this year on the tag and then revisit the situation next March.

Tahoe Blackjack 21 (@TahoeBlack21): Is Jimmy Garoppolo going to be ready for the beginning of training camp or is he going to miss more time?

VB: The optimistic manner in which the team and the player are acting leads one to believe he is on track to be ready. But until he gets cleared to begin playing, a healthy level of concern is warranted.

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