Believe it or not, most relationships end in the NFL on good terms.
Players who have been around as long as former Pittsburgh Steelers CB and future Hall of Famer Patrick Peterson know that the business end is separate from the personal end.
And now that the Steelers have gotten through the meat of free agency with money to spare, Peterson has sights set on a return to Pittsburgh:
Pat Pete Back in Pittsburgh?
It hasn’t even been a full week since the Steelers cut ties with Peterson, releasing the 8x Pro Bowler and 3x All-Pro ahead of this week’s free agency in an effort to save nearly $7 million against the cap.
But despite big-name signings like Russell Wilson and Patrick Queen, the team still has around $15m in cap space given current projections, and could still use more depth in the secondary. Peterson seemingly knows as much:
“I would love to return back to Pittsburgh, had a great, me and coach (Mike) Tomlin, had a great dialogue when I got that dreaded call of being released,” Peterson said on Thursday’s edition of GMFB. “But being there in Pittsburgh I had the time of my life, being with coach Tomlin, seeing how he was able to get his guys up week in and week out, no matter what the circumstances were, he told me the door’s still open for business, so we’ll see what happens here in the next couple weeks and month or two, and hopefully I can be a Pittsburgh Steeler again. But a team that is looking for a veteran corner, I’m out there. I definitely want to give it another shot to fulfill my long dream and to go win a championship.”
Now, Peterson may be slated to turn 34 before the season starts, but he was easily the Steelers second best defensive back behind Joey Porter Jr. when Minkah Fitzpatrick was rehabbing.
And while Pittsburgh has more pressing needs at positions like center and WR, that market has dried up fast in free agency, with the team's best option of finding reliable talent likely being in the draft, leaving the door for Peterson’s return wide-open.
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