Cardinals
keeping certain players in line.
But he does it with such savvy, almost no one ever complains or takes it personal.
That’s one of the many reasons why he was unanimously voted by Cardinals players once again this season to be the club’s lead union representative to the NFL Players Association.
Guard Justin Pugh is the team’s secondary union rep, and he said Peters is the perfect person for the No. 1 role. It’s because of Peters’ style and sensibility as much as it is his knowledge and experience.
“Yeah, for sure,” Pugh said. “He’s kind of like that old-school, throwback D lineman that doesn’t do much talking, just does a lot of action. And that’s what I like about him. I respect him as a man and what he does in the community, which you see with his football camps back home in Kentucky. He’s a great man, a great leader and we definitely have our trust in him.”
They better because this is an incredibly pivotal time for NFL players league-wide as the union attempts to reach a new, long-term Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL owners. The current CBA is set to expire following the 2020 season, which could lead to a work stoppage the following year if things go sideways.
It’s happened before and it wasn’t pretty.
Remember “The Replacements”? The movie was great, but the real thing wasn’t.
Peters has an even greater ambition, however. He not only wants his NFL brethren to succeed and discover more opportunities through constructive labor negotiations, he’s making it a mission to personally advise younger players on the Cardinals how to make the most out of life while they are here.
It’s become one of his major passions when he’s not swallowing up blocks from centers, guards and tackles, trying to open opportunities for his teammates to cause destruction and disruption around him on game days.
“One of my biggest fears and something I hate to see,” he said, “is guys play three, four, five years in this league and then don’t have anything. I think that’s a very unfortunate thing. I’ve seen it. Everything like that is all personal responsibility and choices. I can tell you a million times to do this and do that. The reality is a lot of guys come into this league from poor financial backgrounds and don’t understand money.
“They’re kind of bombarded with a large amount of it. You’re coming from high school to where you’re taken care of by these big college programs, where they walk you through everything to now being totally independent and to be handed a whole lot of money with all the options.”
Peters rattles off the list of vices that can prey on younger players and older ones alike, and it’s not worth
“I think I can help mediate any situation and I just think that’s really it — my personality type and the age is well.” Corey Peters
Cardinals defensive tackle, on his role as a mentor
even repeating what they are. We know them all. The problem, he said, is that it’s still happening and the NFL’s Rookie Symposium, which does its best to annually educate the dangers that are out there, isn’t enough.
“It all falls back to that personal responsibility,” Peters said. “They can warn you about everything and tell you about everything, but it’s like playing D-line — I can tell you the double team is coming but at the end of the day, you’ve got to play it. That’s how it works.”
Peters is and remains close friends with former Cardinals defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche, the team’s former first-round draft pick who was recently released upon reporting to camp overweight, out of shape and having been arrested twice within a week for traffic violations.
For the past three seasons, Peters’ locker was situated right next to Nkemdiche, who has yet to be signed, and he was asked if he is worried about what might happen to the former standout from Ole Miss.
“I’m hopeful that his situation will kind of be a wake-up call for him,” Peters said, noting he’s talked with Nkemdiche at least a few times in recent days. “He has as much talent as anybody in the NFL and I mean that. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Robert get it together and go somewhere else and be a Pro Bowl-type player because that’s what his potential is.
“I’ve talked to him a few times (since his release), but ultimately, like we’ve talked about previously, it’s up to him to make the right decisions to do what we needs to do just like the rest of us. So, it’s in his hands.”