Is the interest mutual?
Patrick Peterson mentioned the Philadelphia Eagles among potential suitors during an interview with NFL Network on Wednesday. Check out exactly what the free agent cornerback had to say.
Q: If there’s a best team fit that you’re looking at, is it a team that has a chance to get deep in the playoffs and win a Super Bowl? What’s your criteria?
PETERSON: I really love what Minnesota’s doing. I think it’s going to be a lot of questions with the coaching staff turnover. But the players there, being in that locker room, being with those guys, seeing how much they care about putting that work Monday through Saturday and seeing the end result on Sundays. There’s nothing like being around a group of guys like that. So, ideally I would like to stay, because I’ve been around that locker room, I know how those guys operate.
But, other than that, just looking around …
Kansas City, I don’t think would be a bad spot.
I don’t know what Dallas has opposite of [Trevon] Diggs but I know they have some young corners over there.
I thought Tampa would be in the mix but [they] signed [Carlton] Davis back. Kind of knew that was out of the picture.
I think Philly is a good fit, like some of the things that they do.
So, there are a lot of teams out there that say they have interest, but money talks.
That last line seems to indicate the Eagles might have some mutual interest in Peterson.
The Eagles do currently have a hole at cornerback with Steve Nelson entering the free agent market. It’s possible they’ll bring him back but that outcome is hardly guaranteed.
Peterson, who turns 32 in July, obviously brings an accomplished resume to the table. He made the Pro Bowl in all of his first eight seasons. He also earned three first-team All-Pro honors in that span.
Peterson’s Pro Bowl streak broke in 2019 and he hasn’t been back since. The Arizona Cardinals were comfortable letting him walk in free agency last year as he signed a one-year, $8 million contract with Minnesota Vikings. After some speculation that he might move to safety, he ended up staying at cornerback. Peterson only allowed a 78.7 passer rating when targeted, according to Pro Football Reference. He ranked 67th out of 134 cornerbacks graded by Pro Football Focus.
So, despite his age, there’s evidence that he can still play.
Further, it’s possible that Peterson’s comment about liking “some of the things that they do” was a nod to how Jonathan Gannon’s overseen some quality cornerback play. Xavier Rhodes notably revived his career while working with Gannon in Indy. Darius Slay had a bounce-back season in 2021 after failing to impress in 2020. Turns out that life can be easier on the corners when the safeties are playing far back behind them.
On that note, I don’t know that the Eagles are looking to invest significant resources in a starting corner. I do wonder if they might have more interest in him as a safety considering the free agent market at that position has kind of dried up.
You know what else has dried up? The Eagles’ activity in the free agent market since signing Haason Reddick (Peterson’s former teammate in Arizona, by the way). And so we continue to wait to see what’s next, whether that’s Philly signing Peterson or someone else.
@P2 come Linc with ya boy! https://t.co/0SbFe73Xlu
— Haason Reddick #43 (@Haason7Reddick) March 17, 2022