Patrick Peterson made his first appearance at Arizona Cardinals offseason team activities on Monday. After practice, the eight-time Pro Bowler explained what it was like to be back on the field with his teammates after missing the first two weeks of OTAs.

“It feels good to be back around my teammates, the supporting cast here in this locker room,” he said, per Cardinals reporter Mike Jurecki. “Got a little sweat in today, got a little lathered up today, so it was a good run, and I'm definitely looking forward to more practice. Got my first pick today, too, so that was a welcome back.”

The NFL announced on May 16th that Peterson was suspended for the first six games of the 2019 season as a result of violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs. Though he insists his ingestion of a prohibited substance was unintentional, Peterson ultimately opted against appealing the NFL's ruling, content to serve his suspension before returning to the field in late October.

Peterson’s suspension is just the latest development of a tumultuous time in his career. He requested a trade midway through last season before ultimately walking it back, and hasn’t exactly refuted reports of his desire to play elsewhere this offseason. In late April, rumors surfaced that Arizona was on the verge of trading Peterson to the Kansas City Chiefs, a possibility supported by his cryptic social media posts expressing dismay with the Cardinals and a subsequent post of a photo of he and former teammate Tyrann Mathieu, who signed a three-year deal with the Chiefs as a free agent.

Arizona, however, has remained steadfast in its refusal to trade Peterson, even after his suspension was announced.