Former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Patrick Peterson’s football career is in limbo right now, as he remains unsigned after the Steelers released him in March. At 34, Peterson’s career could be concluded, but he’s open to signing with a team if the right opportunity presents itself.
In the meantime, Peterson is preparing himself for a job in the media.
“The question is still up in the air because I am willing to take a phone call, but I’m here with you guys right now,” Peterson said during an appearance on NFL Network’s The Insider’s show on Tuesday. “So I’m kind of in between both worlds right now.”
From The Insiders on @NFLNetwork: Our in-depth interview with perennial Pro Bowl FA CB Patrick Peterson, who still could land with a playoff-ready team this season, but also could be taking our jobs in the media eventually. pic.twitter.com/7SkjNFJxsW
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 4, 2024
Peterson is an eight-time Pro Bowler and has been named first-team All-Pro three times. He’s also a member of the 2010s All-Decade Team. The only missing piece to his Hall of Famer career is a Super Bowl ring.
“I would love to play for a contender,” Peterson said. “At this stage of my career, I’ll be going into season 14. I want to have an opportunity to feel the confetti fall on me. So that’s the end goal. I’ve done everything that I wanted to accomplish for myself individually, but now I want to have the ultimate team goal feeling, which is winning a Lombardi.”
Mike Tomlin said in March that a reunion is still on the table for Peterson. Obviously, nothing has come to fruition yet, but maybe the Steelers will give him a call if the team suffers multiple injuries at the cornerback position this year.
Peterson has a lot of respect for Tomlin, but the Steelers are probably not on the cusp of competing for a Super Bowl title. So it will be interesting to see if he would consider signing if offered. It could be his only opportunity.
“It was a shocking phone call, just coming off a break, but then I had an opportunity to talk to Coach [Mike] Tomlin, we had some great dialogue and an opportunity to really talk. Because like I said, I was just getting off a cruise, so I didn’t have time to talk to him and see what came into the decision. Then later on, I had an opportunity, me and Coach Tomlin to get on the phone and talk about some things and the door may still be open,” Peterson said on the All Things Covered podcast.
In 2023, Peterson started 16 of 17 games and played in 97% of Pittsburgh’s defensive snaps, while also showing off a significant level of versatility that had not been tapped earlier in his career.
Peterson played 208 snaps as a slot cornerback in 2023, according to Pro Football Focus, nearly double his previous career high. He also played 105 snaps of box safety, also near double his previous high mark, and 218 snaps of free safety, despite playing just a handful over his first 12 seasons.