Corey Peters: Joining the Arizona Cardinals was a ‘no-brainer’

The Arizona Cardinals signed free agent defensive lineman Corey Peters on Wednesday. For Peters, it wasn’t a tough decision to join the team.

“It was always a very interesting choice,” Peters told Bickley & Marotta on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Thursday. “The Cardinals have a very good team and I feel like they’re right on the edge of getting over that hump and making it to the big one. I honestly feel like it was kind of a no-brainer. It just seemed like the perfect situation for me.”

The Cardinals needed some defensive lineman help, as they released longtime Cardinal Darnell Dockett on Feb. 27. Peters has played 71 games in his career, all for the Atlanta Falcons, and has 11 sacks to his name. He also has an interception and a fumble recovery, which he returned for a touchdown.

Peters has faced off against the Cardinals four times in his career, and said he’s always been impressed with how they play.

“We played Arizona for a few times and it’s always been a tough game and they’ve always had great teams and very good defenses over the course of that time,” Peters said. “I’ve always admired their defense and it’s great to be a part of that. I look forward to becoming a part of the unit and hopefully continuing in that success.”

At his press conference on Wednesday, Peters said he had a chance to take more money to play for a different team. That didn’t matter as much to him, as he wanted to join the Cardinals.

“The organization, just from the top down, is a first-class organization,” Peters said. “They’ve done things — the way they approached free agency with me was very interesting. They made what they wanted very much so well-known, and I just felt like it was a great fit and I felt like the relationship between me and the organization can be very much mutually beneficial.”

Peters isn’t the only former Falcon making the move to Arizona. Free agent linebacker Sean Weatherspoon also signed with the Cardinals on Wednesday. Both were drafted in 2010 by Atlanta and have spent the last five seasons playing on the same side of the ball. Peters said he loves to have a good friend join him in Arizona, even though it wasn’t necessarily planned.

“Everything was pretty much done independently,” Peters said. “Me and Sean are very close and it just happened to work out that way so I’m ecstatic about that and just having my friend with me. I think it’s going to be good for both of us. He’s a terrific player. I think the fans are really going to get behind him. They’re going to love him and I think what we bring to the table is just great.”

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