Almost immediately after the Pittsburgh Steelers signed veteran CB Patrick Peterson, he began talking about moving around the defense. Though the soon-to-be 33-year old Peterson has done pretty much everything over his long career, most of his has been accomplished on the outside. But with the team losing Cam Sutton and releasing Arthur Maulet, they need slot help. Peterson might be the answer.
Speaking with reporters after today’s practice, Peterson confirmed that he moved around during the day, including seeing time in the slot. That’s the reason why Joey Porter Jr. was elevated to first-team defense, putting Peterson, Porter, and Levi Wallace on the field at the same time.
“I moved around a little bit throughout practice,” he said via the Steelers’ YouTube channel. “I’m loving it so far but we’ll see how far coach wants to take it.”
Shortly after signing, Peterson floated the idea of moving around the defense, playing slot corner and safety, but details were understandably light at the time.
Peterson has served as an outside corner throughout his career to challenge top receivers. A job he’s done well given his Hall of Fame resume with eight Pro Bowls, three All-Pros, and 34 career interceptions. But turning 33 next month and admitting he’s lost some of the speed he had in his youth, he’s willing and open to move around Pittsburgh’s defense. For many older corners, it means playing safety, but Peterson will try his hand inside where a lack of long speed isn’t as vital as outside.
“I feel like the inside guy is the most protected,” he said. “You’re close to the linebacker, you’ve got a middle field safety. You’re basically just playing to your leverage and funneling the receiver to where you’re not covering. Just understand where your help is. For me, it gives me the ability to play even slower than the outside.”
How much Peterson plays in the slot remains to be seen. Perhaps he’ll slide inside in passing situations, on third down in the team’s dime package, the role Sutton held a year ago. Maybe Peterson will play virtually all the slot reps, though that seems less likely. Some of it will depend on the progress the second-round corner Porter makes. The better he looks, the more urgency there is to get him on the field, the quicker the team will bump Peterson inside. Other slot names in the mix include veteran Chandon Sullivan, a true slot corner, and Duke Dawson, a pedigree player but someone who hasn’t played an NFL down since 2020.
With no clear frontrunner in the slot, Pittsburgh will likely toy around with its slot pieces throughout the rest of OTAs and into training camp. Peterson will be on the Steelers’ list of options though he’s far from the only one.
