Newly signed Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Patrick Peterson knows all about the winning culture and rich history of the Steelers as he grew up watching his cousin Bryant McFadden win two Super Bowls with organization in the 2000s. Approaching age 33, Peterson has had a decorated career, earning eight Pro Bowl nominations and three first-team All-Pro selections. The only thing missing on his Hall of Fame resume is a Lombardi Trophy, and he feels like Pittsburgh is the best place to accomplish that feat.
“My goal and aspirations are not going to change. I know the winning pedigree there is on Coach (Mike) Tomlin’s mind and the Rooney families mind,” Peterson said on the “All Things Covered” podcast with McFadden. “That’s all they care about. They want to win, and they want to win right now. Those are the type of guys that I want to be around to end off my career for sure.”
Peterson told McFadden that seeing the six Lombardi Trophies at the Steelers practice facility showcases that the organization is on another level.
“It’s just been great to finally be a part of not only a world class organization, Minnesota is a world class organization too, but an organization that’s actually done it before,” Peterson said. “I was playing with the Cardinals, they been there but not actually having the opportunity to win it. Minnesota’s been there but not having the opportunity to win it, as well. Seeing those trophies every single day that you walk into the building, gives you a different type of motivation for sure.”
Peterson will wear No. 20 with the Steelers, which is the same number that McFadden wore when he was with the Steelers. Peterson said he did it to pay homage to B-Mac.
“Oh I said, B-Mac is gonna get a kick of this because that’s the number that literally caught my eye. I was like, ‘I’m gonna rock 20,'” Peterson explained on how he picked No. 20. “And then when I got home my daughter asked me, “Dad how old were you when you got drafted?’ I thought about it and I was like I was 20 years old. It kind of tied in with that. But I definitely got it to represent you, though. You meant so much to me in my career, even in high school growing up.”
McFadden responded by saying that No. 20 is going to be lucky for Peterson and he’s going to get himself a “sticky Lombardi.”
“And I know how bad you want that championship,” McFadden said. “And that would mean we would have two family members that win a championship with the Pittsburgh Steelers, playing the same position (and) wearing the same number.”
The Steelers currently have the worst odds to win the AFC North at +600, but Peterson believes the Steelers can be a playoff team in 2023.
“I do think we can contend right now, because the pieces are there,” Peterson told McFadden. “We just have to go out and trust the process, continue to lean on Coach Mike T to put us in the position to be successful and let everything else fall after that. When Kenny Pickett (played after the bye week), they went 6-2. It was just a different spunk. A different attitude and different identity once he became the full-time starting quarterback. You know, when you can finish off the season hot, you tend to enter that next season hot, as well. Hopefully we can keep that trend going and see how far it takes us.”
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