The old saying "Don't burn bridges" rings true this time of year in the NFL.
With multiple waves of free agency over and the NFL Draft now in full focus, the veterans still searching for a club could be headed back to the very team that released them.
Patrick Peterson didn't rule that out, and earlier this week, neither did Pittsburgh Steelers HC Mike Tomlin:
Call it a Comeback?
“We’re open to it as well,” Tomlin said when asked about Peterson's potential return to Pittsburgh at the league owners' meetings in Orlando this week. “But, you know, there’s so much business in front of us and we just felt like it was appropriate to be transparent with him to give him an opportunity to assess what’s out there in totality.”
Tomlin's comments come off of what Peterson said regarding his release ahead of NFL free agency:
“I would love to return back to Pittsburgh. Me and coach (Mike) Tomlin, had a great dialogue when I got that dreaded call of being released,” Peterson said earlier this month on 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.”
An 8X Pro Bowler and 3X first-team All-Pro, Peterson is a first-ballot Hall of Famer five years after he hangs up his cleats. And while he hasn't played at the All-Pro level in some time, he was more than adequate for Pittsburgh, playing multiple roles in Pittsburgh's secondary last season.
So I wouldn't expect anything to happen until after the NFL Draft in April. but if Pittsburgh has money left over and feels like they could add some help in the DB room, don't rule out a reunion, especially with both sides on the same page.
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