Patrick Peterson‘s recent struggles have NFL observers wondering if the Arizona Cardinals stud cornerback is on the decline
Many fans of the Arizona Cardinals were bracing themselves this past Tuesday. The NFL’s trade deadline had arrived, and there were rumors that cornerback Patrick Peterson could be shipped out of town. Those reports turned out to be false, and a collective sigh of relief could be heard throughout the desert when the Cards decided to hang on to the highly-coveted cover guy.
After viewing Peterson’s effort during the squad’s Halloween night loss to the San Francisco 49ers, it now appears as if Arizona should’ve dealt the 29-year old veteran. The eight-time Pro Bowler was beaten like a drum by San Francisco’s wide receivers, with Emmanuel Sanders inflicting most of the damage. Just four days before, Peterson was schooled by the New Orleans Saints Michael Thomas during another Cardinals loss.
On October 20th, Peterson made a triumphant return from a six-game suspension for ingesting PEDs. The corner’s presence seemed to have a positive effect on the entire Cards defense. In fact, Peterson’s strip-sack of New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones late in that contest helped seal the team’s 27-21 victory.
Now, just two weeks later, there are those who believe that the ninth-year player could be on the decline. Throughout most of his career, opposing passers would purposely refrain from throwing passes to Peterson’s side of the field. However, signal-callers Drew Brees and Jimmy Garoppolo seemed to actually be picking on Arizona’s number-one cover guy when they faced him.
There were reports that Cardinals general manager Steve Keim had been offered a first-round pick and more for Peterson. That’s more than fair compensation for an individual who’s better days may be behind him. Peterson will turn 30 years old next July, and his current contract will expire at the conclusion of the 2020 campaign.
For now, the Cards can only hope that the decision not to trade Peterson was the correct one. Perhaps those awful outings by the former first-round selection were nothing but a mirage. Peterson has the remainder of 2019 to prove that he’s still at the top of his game.