Arizona Cardinals Relegate Patrick Peterson To Defense Only

Jul 26, 2014; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Brittan Golden (10) tries to catch the ball as cornerback Patrick Peterson (21) defends during training camp at University of Phoenix. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Say good bye to Patrick Peterson.  Good bye to Patrick Peterson the special teams player and offensive weapon that is.  The Arizona Cardinals are restricting Peterson to his cornerback duties only going forward.  It’s the right move and Peterson agrees.

"“I’m completely okay with it.”"

That’s what Peterson told arizonasports.com this weekend.  You know what?  He should be.  This gives Peterson the chance to focus solely on being a corner.  It should improve his game even more than where it is now.  He’s already one of the top corners in the league.  He thinks he is the best and if he isn’t, well he’s certainly top five.  Being able to focus solely on being a corner also rids of the distractions of being a special teams player.  He hasn’t returned any punts for touchdowns since his rookie season.  He’s had issues trying to get free.  Teams have learned how to play him in the return game.  Peterson was always trying to make things happen and sometimes that got him into trouble.  He’s lucky that trouble didn’t land him on the injured reserve.

As for the offense?  I think with the new weapons the Cards have picked up, like with Ted Ginn Jr., this will free the Cards from having to even think about using Peterson as an offensive weapon. It was fun while the experiment lasted but the Cards didn’t even use him nearly as much on offense as they had hinted early on last season.

It’s nice to see that Peterson likes the change.  He almost sounded like it was a relief this was all he would have to focus on.  I honestly think he spent too much time thinking about making the next big play in those two areas.  Now, he can truly prove he is the best shut down corner in the NFL.