Like or not, the Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t likely to trade for Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson by next week’s deadline. Even Peterson’s cousin, former Steelers cornerback Bryant McFadden, doesn’t think his relative will land in Pittsburgh if he’s somehow traded in the next several days.
“My communication with Pat, Pittsburgh has not been involved,” McFadden said Tuesday during an interview on 93.7 The Fan when asked if he’s heard anything about the Steelers showing interest in trading for Peterson.
Even though the Cardinals owner and head coach have both said this past week that Peterson won’t be traded, McFadden made it sound like the organization is fielding offers just the same and that Arizona is currently playing “hardball” when it comes to their asking price for the shutdown cornerback.
“They’re asking for a lot,” McFadden said. “I don’t know exactly the asking price but based on my conversations with Pat and based on his conversations with his agent, they’re asking for a lot. They’re asking for multiple picks. I’ve been communicating with a few people in Philadelphia and I can’t confirm this, but based on what I’ve gathered, Philadelphia had a package for Pat for a few picks. I think it was at least two picks and I think Arizona wants more than two picks. So basically, Arizona was looking to get a pick in 2019, 2020 and 2021, if I’m not mistaken. Like I said, I can’t confirm that, but those are some rumors that I heard.”
So, with the Cardinals supposedly asking the moon for Peterson right now, McFadden was asked Tuesday if he believes his cousin is optimistic that a trade will ultimately happen before next week’s deadline.
“As of today, I think it’s best to say he requested a trade knowing that a team like New Orleans would love to have him be a part of what they’re doing, especially in the secondary,” McFadden replied. “I liked his chances of potentially getting that done, going to New Orleans, but you know, frustration grew I think with the Saints as far as the communication between the Cardinals and the Saints and then of course they decide to go elsewhere because they highly felt like they couldn’t match what they were looking to get with the Arizona Cardinals were looking to get.
“So, now it’s a waiting process, but at the end of the day, we know the Arizona Cardinals, they hold all the cards. It’s up to them. Even though Pat wants out, they don’t want to move Pat. They would like for him to be there going forward. He’s a leader, one of the best players in the game at what he does, so if they moved him, you better believe they’re looking to get a lot in return.”
In case you have yet to hear the news, the New Orleans Saints acquired cornerback Eli Apple from the New York Giants Tuesday afternoon. Bryant had said previously on Monday that he thought the Saints would be an ideal landing spot for his cousin if the Cardinals decided to trade him.
There you go. If the Cardinals do wind up trading Peterson, you can bet they’ll only do so because their ultrahigh asking price was paid. Personally, I can’t blame them for wanting the moon for Peterson as I would as well. After all, he’s a great cornerback, is still under 30 years of age, is signed to a reasonable contract through 2020 and reportedly is a great leader and human on and off the field. What’s not to like about him?
Would I love to see Peterson in a Steelers uniform? Absolutely I would, but as I have said all along, I just can’t see Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert trading for Peterson and especially if it would cost him multiple draft picks to acquire the cornerback. That’s just not how the Steelers do business and you would think most of you would know this by now and would stop demanding that Colbert do whatever it takes to get Peterson to Pittsburgh.
