There was a time when Patrick Peterson was one of the best cornerbacks in football, but at this stage of his career, the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ veteran is seeing his skills erode.
Peterson has a year left on his deal with the Steelers, but there has been some speculation that Pittsburgh could potentially part ways with him.
The 33-year-old spoke on the situation during his All Things Covered podcast this week and seems more than willing to stay with the Steelers…as long as they’ll have him in return.
“The question is if the Steelers want me to finish with them,” Peterson said. “I signed a two-year deal for a reason.”
Peterson is coming off of a shaky 2023 campaign in which he played every game and registered 42 tackles, a couple of interceptions and 11 passes defended.
While Peterson wasn’t bad this past season, he barely even resembled his former self.
The Fort Lauderdale, Fl. native, who played his collegiate football at LSU, was originally selected by the Arizona Cardinals with the fifth overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft.
He spent the first decade of his career with the Cardinals, making eight Pro Bowl appearances and earning three First-Team All-Pro selections.
For his first eight seasons, Peterson never missed a game, so durability certainly represented a portion of his value along with his elite skillset at the cornerback position.
After his run in Arizona, Peterson landed with the Minnesota Vikings for two seasons before ultimately signing with the Steelers last offseason.
It’s clear at this point that Peterson is a supplementary piece rather than a defensive anchor, and it remains to be seen if Pittsburgh feels he is valuable enough to retain.
The Steelers went 10-7 and lost to the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs this past season.
