Suspension of Steelers CB Cameron Sutton opens the door for reunion with future Hall of Famer
The Pittsburgh Steelers were hit by a punch they could see coming from a mile away on Monday following the suspension of CB Cam Sutton. The decision brings the Steelers back to square one in terms of what they're going to do at slot corner, though the roster has some young and hungry talent. But […]
The Pittsburgh Steelers were hit by a punch they could see coming from a mile away on Monday following the suspension of CB Cam Sutton.
The decision brings the Steelers back to square one in terms of what they're going to do at slot corner, though the roster has some young and hungry talent.
But should Pittsburgh decide to go the veteran route, one name stands above the rest: Patrick Peterson
The Return of Patrick Peterson?
"This does bring Patrick Peterson right back into the conversation," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Ray Fittipaldo recently told 93.7 The Fan. "If you can get Patrick Peterson on a vet minimum contract-let's say August 15th-let's say they evaluate all these guys I just mentioned for three weeks, they don't like any of their options…Boom, you make a phone call to Patrick Peterson. He's keeping himself in shape. He's the slot corner for the first eight games of the season, and you have Patrick Peterson and Cam Sutton for $2 million a year."
An idea that has legs to it, sure there are other free-agent corners like Xavien Howard and Stephon Gilmore, but those guys have yet to make the switch inside to cover the slot or play the nickel.
Patrick Peterson did that and more for the Steelers last season, playing at a fairly high level given his age relative to the CB position, and proving how versatile and durable he was with, as he led the defense in snaps played at 97%.
Oh, and Peterson has been boisterous about re-joining the Steelers since they let him go, and recently said that he's had dialogue with the team.
“You know how much I love Coach (Mike) Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers organization and Joey Porter (Jr.). I want to be around his growth throughout his young NFL career,” Peterson told Rich Eisen on his Roku Channel show. “Coach Zimmer there in Dallas, (I) had a couple conversations with them. … Those are two teams right now that we had conversations with, but we’ll see where it goes.”
Peterson may turn 34 on Wednesday, but this is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer who already knows the scheme, environment, coaching staff, and majority of the defense. He fits a position of need and will come at a cheap cost, with proven production as recently as last year.
If that's not a no-brainer as a signing, I'm not sure what is.
The rest of the NFL just told you the Steelers made the right move regarding Najee Harris’ future
Might take some heat off Pittsburgh.
