Patrick Peterson Announces Plan to Return in 2024

Patrick Peterson has repeatedly stated that he wants to play for at least 15 years in the NFL. This is Year 13, which means Peterson is close to his goal. Joining the Rich Eisen Show, Peterson stated that he plans to return in 2024 for a his 14th season in the NFL.

“I always had dreams and aspirations to play 15 years, but that wasn’t guaranteed to me,” Peterson said. “I’m just very blessed and lucky to still be playing this game I love 13 years and counting, because I still plan on coming back next year.”

Patrick Peterson has helped the Steelers out this season by switching between outside cornerback, slot cornerback, and safety. That position switch might be necessary to reach that 15-year goal. He understands that he no longer has the elite speed that he once did, and other greats have done it, so why can’t he?

“The older that I did get, if I wanted to play this game for much longer than I planned on playing, I did feel that move was going to be necessary,” Peterson said. “I feel like it’s a great move for me at this state of my career. We’ve got some really, really good corners on this roster that I feel can really feel can be the cornerstone of this team here in the future. This might be my second career.”

Safety is a position that players can play a little bit longer. Rod Woodson moved to safety late in his career, with the Baltimore Ravens. He ended up playing 17 seasons. Is something like that in the cards for Peterson? It seems that is likely the road that he is going down, or at the very least, becoming a versatile defender in the middle of the field. There are adjustments to make to his game, and he has to be a willing tackler to play there, but if Peterson can make it happen, he will become the next in a long list of Hall of Fame cornerbacks to move to safety.