Arizona Cardinals: A Patrick Peterson trade to the Chiefs makes sense

The Arizona Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs should discuss a deal for Patrick Peterson.

The Arizona Cardinals have been the hottest name on the trade market all off-season long, in large part due to the Josh Rosen-Kyler Murray dilemma. But, with Byron Murphy now in-fold, and Patrick Peterson‘s reluctance to commit to the team, and talk positively about them, the latter could very well be on the trade block.

In case you don’t remember, Peterson asked for a trade back in October, just days before the trade deadline. However, that didn’t happen as he re-committed to the then-struggling Redbirds. But the drama doesn’t end there.

Just days before the 2019 draft, Peterson removed all mentions of the team on social media and posted some passive-aggressive shots to the team, including this post on Instagram.

With a new regime in Arizona and the drafting of highly touted cornerback prospect Byron Murphy, Peterson may get his wish. The team is attempting to restart their culture, and Peterson may not be too keen on that or the idea of staying.

Cue the Kansas City Chiefs; CBS’ John Breech mentioned the team as the ideal trade partner to land the eight-time Pro Bowler because

"Kansas City has been doing everything possible to beef up a defensive unit that couldn’t stop anyone while ranking 31st overall in the NFL last season."

A trade for the star cornerback would start with a 2020 first-round pick, which Breech mentioned as fair compensation for the Cardinals. Although Peterson would start next season at 29 years old, he still ranks amongst the elite cornerbacks in the NFL and is on a fair deal for his last two seasons of his contract.

Per Over The Cap, if Peterson were to be traded, the Chiefs would pay him less than $11 million next season and $12.5 million the next season. These are both numbers that the Chiefs can afford, but a trade makes more sense when you consider their roster build.

Currently, the Chiefs are set to start Bashaud Breeland and Charvarius Ward at outside cornerback. For a team that has done plenty of work to build a defense to keep Patrick Mahomes off the field, the pass coverage unit still looks shoddy. Peterson would be the upgrade they desperately need.

Peterson would also join former Cardinals teammates in Kansas City, specifically Tyrann Mathieu, Alex Okafor, and Xavier Williams. If the star cornerback wants to be comfortable and compete outside of Arizona, the Chiefs are the solution to do both.

However, due to the Chiefs looking to be a Super Bowl contender for the foreseeable future, a first may not do the trick alone. Instead, I’d look to make a trade revolving around a first and a middle-round pick. Though it’ll be a steep price to pay, the Chiefs window to win is now; they simply can’t deny it and haven’t, based on their additions of Frank Clark, Tyrann Mathieu, and Emmanuel Ogbah.

For the Cardinals, they could likely do fine in terms of life without Peterson. The cornerback group is as stout as ever with the additions of Robert Alford and Byron Murphy.