Saints HC Sean Payton talks respect for Rams CB Marcus Peters, wanted to draft him

During Wednesday’s talks with the media the comments made by Rams starting cornerback Marcus Peters were bound to come up, and they did. Peters made headlines after the Rams 45-35 loss to the Saints in November saying “Tell Sean Payton to keep talking that sh*t. We gonna see him soon. Then we gonna have a good nice little bowl of gumbo together.”

Since those comments anticipation has built for a possible rematch when those words would come again. Payton chose to address them by reiterating that Peters was a player he respected, and that the Saints tried to draft him back in 2015 the year they took Andrus Peat.

As it’s been reported before, the Saints actually tried to make a draft day trade that would have enabled them to grab Peters in the 2015 draft, but it fell through. Payton said going into that draft that Peat and Peters were two of their top targets.

Rams head coach Sean McVay had a similar stance on the comments when asked on Wednesday, “I think it was all in good fun. I think there’s a competitiveness that exists. There’s a lot of dialogue that goes back and forth when you have relationships or you have history with people. I think Marcus was having fun with it and I know that he has a whole lot of respect for Payton and the Saints.”

This certainly would line up with Payton’s comments, and Peters himself provided clarity on his words, “I see y’all trying to make it something that it’s not, man. Just all respect to Sean Payton and what he does. During the game, things was happening. But I just love the fact that he’s a competitor. It wasn’t nothing to be disrespectful. Sh*t, I was pissed off. I didn’t have the game that I wanted to have.”

The Los Angeles Rams return to New Orleans for the NFC Championship game this Sunday and Peters will have a chance to back up his words. Payton is hoping to replicate their previous success and secure the franchise’s second Super Bowl berth with both coming under his tenure as head coach.

No matter the outcome, Payton’s last words on Peters indicate he’s just enjoying the game, both on and off the field, “I have great respect for him, and it’s all good.”