Arizona Cardinals placing Patrick Peterson at risk

Bruce Arians’ insistence on using Patrick Peterson on punt returns is putting the Arizona Cardinals upcoming season at risk

There’s an old phrase that Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians needs to be made aware of. The phrase, “the risk isn’t worth the reward”, applies to the idea of Patrick Peterson again returning punts in 2017. In Peterson’s case, however, the “reward” from him being the returner hasn’t been so great since his rookie year anyway.

Arians stated the other day that “until I get a better one and one I can trust”, Peterson will still be fielding punts on Sundays. Putting the six-time Pro Bowler in that position is, for a lack of a better word, ludicrous. Ludicrous for a couple of different reasons.

The obvious reason not to do it is the injury factor. The LSU product is way too valuable a cornerback to lose, especially considering the club’s options at the number-two corner spot. That position has been pretty much ignored this offseason by management, leaving the incapable duo of Justin Bethel and Brandon Williams to battle for it.

Not only that, Arians also knows first-hand the danger that comes with being a punt-returner. It was in 2013 that Tyrann Mathieu tore his ACL doing exactly what the coaching staff is asking Peterson to do. The Cards’ dynamic defensive back was injured trying to gain extra yards on a punt return, ending his rookie season.

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It was during the 1998 NFL preseason that the New York Giants learned the same lesson the hard way. The G-men, trying desperately to improve the league’s worst kickoff-return average, looked to their own star cornerback for help. As it turned out, Jason Sehorn tore both his ACL and MCL on the opening kickoff of an exhibition contest, and was never the same player again.

The second reason not to let Peterson do it, as alluded to earlier, is that there hasn’t been much of a reward from him doing it since 2011. That was the last time he returned a punt for a touchdown (actually four that year). Also, his 6.2 yards per punt return average in 2016 was not good to say the least.

Arians’ excuse that there’s no one on the Cardinals’ roster better equipped to perform the task is hogwash. It wouldn’t be a stretch to think that either John Brown or Brittan Golden, both wide receivers, could top Peterson’s ugly punt-return average from last year. Not to mention, if an injury was to occur, Arizona is much deeper at wideout than they are at corner at the current time.

Losing Peterson to injury, especially on a punt return he really doesn’t need to be executing, would be disastrous. Not only would the head coach be putting the Cards’ best defensive player at risk, but also their 2017 campaign as well. Here’s hoping Arians reconsiders.

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