Head Coach John Harbaugh
Opening statement: "Good to see everybody. I appreciate you being here. We had a really special group of guests here, as you may note. The good people from Shock Trauma are here and joining us. We're going to do some things, I'm sure, in the spring, for Baltimore City, and connect with them for some projects. So, that was really an honor to have them here. [We had a] great practice. It's a beautiful day. It was nice to get outside. That was a little change from the other two days, so we're happy about that, and we're ready to get on the plane and head out to Seattle."
I know the team put out a statement, but you spoke before of Representative Elijah Cummings. Did you know him at all? (Jonas Shaffer)"I never did get a chance to get to know him, but I have nothing but the utmost respect for Mr. Cummings. I wish I had gotten the chance to get to know him. I have regrets now that I never did get a chance to get to know him, but I followed him very closely with just nothing but admiration for what we did in the community and for how committed he was. He had a long history of civil rights work, all the way back to the beginning. It just means a lot. It's a sad day, but he was a great man. Thanks for saying that."
Obvious questions, how did CB Marcus Peters look today, and will he be ready in the next couple of days? (Jeff Zrebiec) "He looked good. He's ready to go. As I said, he's going to play. He'll probably play a lot. So, we're looking forward to it. He looks good, and our coaches have done a good job of getting him up to speed. He's done a really good job of studying and being up to speed. We're just going to go … Hey, we're going out there with all of our best weapons. We're not holding anything back. We're going to try to win the game."
ILB Josh Bynes talked about how the challenges for him to play so quickly were not only learning the defense, but learning the Steelers. Does it help CB Marcus Peters that he's already played Seattle a couple of weeks ago, and he can kind of focus more on just learning your defense? (Jeff Zrebiec)"That's probably a great point. I hadn't asked him about that, but between him and Earl [Thomas III], we had encouraged our guys to ask them what they knew, in terms of Seattle, which is good. It's never a difference-maker or anything like that, but I'll bet you that he would say that that's probably true. It's a good point."
You said earlier in the week that it would be tough for ILB Patrick Onwuasor and WR Marquise Brown to play if they didn't practice. Is there a possibility that they do play? (Aaron Kasinitz)"We never hold anybody … We don't like to have that rule, so we'll just leave that up in the air right now."
CB Marcus Peters
On changing his jersey number from 30 to 24:"It was just something … It's an upgrade. I know I can't get 22 because of Jimmy [Smith], but I was looking for something different. So, I went with 24, thanks to Brandon [Carr], though."
On his reaction to the trade and if he was surprised:"Yes, I'm surprised, but it's a part of the game. You have to understand these things. These things occur in football, and you just have to handle your business."
On learning the playbook and getting to know teammates over the past couple days:"It's been cool, man. Everybody has been real accepting of me being here. They've been helping me with everything if I need some help with things, and we've just been trying to move forward and get ready for Sunday."
On what his impressions of the Ravens were from afar and if he talked to former Ravens S Eric Weddle about the organization:"Yes, 'E-Dub' [Eric Weddle], he loves this organization. He told me it's going to be a great organization for me to work [for], and to be able to play for this city is going to be amazing. He told me to just go in there, work hard, do what I've been doing, and everything will be perfectly fine."
On if his personality and style of play really fits with how the Ravens like to play defense:"Yes, I think it does. Now we just have to see it all gel together. We just have to go out there and play fast."
On if he felt like he could have ended up in Baltimore coming out of the 2015 draft:"Yes, I remember my visit like it was yesterday, coming here and just my whole draft process. But yes, this is one of the places that liked me a lot. Coach [John] Harbaugh actually called me a few picks right before I got picked, just checking on me, seeing how I was doing. But yes, I'm glad to be here, just ready to keep playing ball."
On how challenging it is to learn a new defense in only a few days and if it helps that he's already played Seattle once this year:"It does help for me playing Seattle already, because I kind of got the gist of what they want to do. And then I played them recently last year twice, but I'm a pro, man. Pros, you have to come in, you have to do your job. I've been in a system like this coming from Kansas City. The only thing you really have to work on is just the terms and things like that. But I think I've got it down so that I'll be able to play fast and do my thing."
On how good this secondary group can be: "We just have to see. The biggest thing for us is to just keep playing fast and just go out there and play confident. I'm going to be new, and the only thing that I ask is just, 'Hey, let's communicate.' That's the biggest thing, so we don't have any busts out there, and just play fast."
On how much he wants to show that he wants to be in Baltimore beyond this season:"I've been traded twice now, so I'm at the end of my rookie contract. My biggest thing is for me to just keep doing what I can do and control what I can control, and just being grateful for the opportunity to be able to play football. Who knows what 26-year-old Marcus Peters would be doing in Oakland, California, right now? So, I'm doing something that I love to do right now. I'm passionate about it, and I'm able to take care of my family doing it. I'm just going to keep doing what I need to do."
On if it was a tough call for him to hear that he was being traded or if it was an emotional conversation with Rams general manager Les Snead: "The biggest thing for me is always leaving your teammates, because that's where you grow those relationships. You're in the locker room with those guys, and I worked with everybody within the staff, with the media, and then just with the coaches in general. So, right before I left, I just went up there and told everybody, 'Hey, thank you.' I know there were some things that were questionable when I first left KC to get there, and I told them thank you for believing me and trusting me and allowing me to just be myself. I walked out of there with my head held high and just blessed and thankful for the opportunity. I told them, 'I'll see you guys in a couple of weeks.'"
On if he thinks he will be as comfortable on the field as he did last week or if there will be a feeling that everything is new:"I'm going to be Marcus Peters, 24-7. He's not going anywhere until I'm gone. That's how my mom and my dad raised me to be. I stand tall, and I get ahead of my business – can't faze me."
On if he looked up to the Ravens' Hall of Fame S Ed Reed: "Hell yes. (laughter) Just playing the position and knowing what he did for this organization, being in the same locker room with some of the guys that he was [with], just get down to your business."
On if he has ever met S Ed Reed: "No, that would be huge. That would be huge. But like I said, to me, my biggest thing is just to come in and … This is an organization I can be myself with and play football like I know how to play football."
