NFL free agent and former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Patrick Peterson is no doubt in the twilight years of his career, but he has expressed his interest to continue playing football. Peterson was released by the Steelers three weeks ago and believes he has juice left in the tank to bring any team a productive player that can boost their defense.
He was on the “NFL on Fox” podcast where Peterson revealed to the hosts of the show that his agent and himself “have had conversations” with several teams in the NFL. He would add on that it's nothing serous at the current moment and the former eight-time Pro Bowler is holding out hope for future development “in the next couple of months.”
“From the cornerback position, I think a lot more signings are going to happen toward after the draft, once teams really understand what they have on their roster and what they may need to continue to improve their rosters,” Peterson said on Thursday on the aforementioned podcast. “That's when I believe you'll start to see more guys get picked up. Me and my agent have had conversations with a couple teams. Nothing really serious thus far, but there has been conversations. Like I said, we'll see what happens in the next couple months.”
Peterson feels he has a “lot left in the tank” to play
Peterson has a lot of intangibles that make him well worth a spot on any NFL roster as he made the Pro Bowl eight years in a row, was an NFL All-Pro first team three times, and has had multiple productive seasons. While people might say he's a relic of the past, Peterson said that he has a “lot left in the tank and can provide” other aspects such as leadership and playmaking ability.
“I do feel like I still have a lot left in the tank and can provide, not only leadership, but playmaking ability to whatever team desires to have me on their roster,” Peterson said. “At this point and stage in my career, going through the free-agent process, I’m just taking it a day at a time.”
Peterson doesn't want to start at safety
The 33-year old spent the last season with the Steelers and changed positions as he went from a cornerback to being a safety. While people might group up those positions in the secondary, Peterson was adamant that he doesn't want to play safety as it is a “different animal back there.”
“I don’t want to start at safety because that’s a different animal back there,” Peterson said. “That’s a different view back there. If that is the case, I would need to be warned going into the season to get my body, my mental prepared. It’s different being at the safety from the cornerback position, having those open-field tackles. As corners, we’re used to knifing in and slicing guys down. When you’re in the open field as a safety, especially if you’re in the middle of the field, that guy’s got 24 yards right and 24 yards left of you. There ain’t no way to cut him off by any means. You’re the last line of defense. So if that is something, I would need notice and probably, you know, get one of these old-time safeties like an Ed Reed or [Troy] Polamalu to coach me up.”
Peterson made position change in the middle of last season with Steelers
While he prefers to play cornerback than safety, he does have the experience that makes him versatile in that way for other teams to use. Back during the season when the Steelers coaching staff made that change, Peterson said back in late December that he “did feel comfortable” and it “felt great.”
“We’ll see where it goes from here, but I did feel comfortable,” Peterson said about playing safety. “It felt great. I made a couple of plays to help this defense be successful and ultimately win the game.”
“I thought I fared pretty well, I didn’t have to make any open-field tackles,” Peterson continued. “Honestly, in my opinion, that’s what it’s going to come down to at safety for me. I have exceptional ball skills to where I can track the ball wherever it is. It’s going to be about whether I can get those open-field runners down when those opportunities present themselves.”
Hoping it isn't the “last ride” per Peterson
Peterson signed a two-year deal worth $14 million, but was cut by the Steelers in early March as he is hoping this is not the end of his career. He would bluntly say that he would “hate” for this past season to be his “last ride” as he recorded 34 solo tackles, 42 total tackles, two interceptions, and 11 passes deflected.
“If that was the last ride, I’d hate for it to be, because I always set the goal out for myself to play 14 years, but we still have time and we’ll see what happens,” Peterson said.
In terms of active players in the entire league, Peterson is the leader in career interceptions with 36. It won't be shocking if Peterson finds himself with an NFL team sooner rather than later. As for the Steelers, they look for an exciting season next season with a lot of different faces.
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