49ers news: All-Pro cornerback won't be joining San Francisco after all

The 49ers had both room and a need for someone like Marcus Peters, but he's signing with a former Bay Area rival instead.

The San Francisco 49ers don't have a lot of roster holes. As NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco pointed out in his pre-training camp 53-man roster predictions, the Niners are probably looking to fill only three to seven spots for the regular season.

One of those weaknesses is at cornerback, particularly on the boundary opposite Charvarius Ward.

Currently, it would appear as if San Francisco is comfortable enough with third-year pro Deommodore Lenoir, who assumed the starting job midway through last season after now-Detroit Lions corner Emmanuel Moseley suffered a season-ending ACL tear in Week 5.

With few names added to the offseason mix, the No. 2 boundary cornerback role would appear to be Lenoir's spot to lose in training camp.

However, the 49ers could have had a great shot at upgrading that particular spot within the secondary, but they ultimately whiffed (or didn't bother trying).

49ers could have signed All-Pro Marcus Peters, Raiders sign him instead

Niner Noise already sang the idea of the Niners going out and signing former Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marcus Peters, who might not be the All-Pro kind of player he was back in his heyday but still was quite adequate for the blackbirds last season, breaking up six passes and intercepting another over 13 games a year after suffering a serious knee injury.

On top of that, even CBS Sports said a Super Bowl-hopeful team like San Francisco should seek out Peters in an attempt to make its defense that much more complete.

Instead, as reported by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport on Monday, Peters will be joining the 49ers' longtime crosstown rivals, the Las Vegas Raiders, on a one-year deal:

Peters was born in the Raiders' previous hometown of Oakland, California, so it might have been a dream to play for his boyhood team.

But Las Vegas is nowhere near as close to a Super Bowl as the Niners are.

That might have mattered to Peters. Or maybe it didn't.

Perhaps San Francisco called Peters' agent to put out feelers, only to get rejected outright with the inevitable "he won't play for you" response. Or, just as possibly, the 49ers never bothered calling in the first place because they like Lenoir and his backups.

Either way, it's a missed opportunity for the red and gold.

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