Patrick Peterson was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency last offseason to help bolster the secondary. Of course this wasn’t a long term answer at the position with Peterson being 33 years old, but with Cameron Sutton departing for Detroit in free agency, the team needed help. Sutton wore many hats for the Steelers secondary, capable of playing just about anywhere in the defensive backfield. This was made possible by his high football IQ, so losing Sutton was more than just losing a corner. The Steelers lost a chess piece that they could move around the defense at-will.
Fast forward to Week Nine of the 2023 season, and Patrick Peterson is being used in a similar manner. With Minkah Fitzpatrick out injured with a hamstring injury suffered against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week Eight, Peterson has been forced to take on different roles within the defense. He discussed this on a recent episode of All Things Covered, a podcast with Bryant McFadden and Peterson.
“It’s something different every week, man,” Peterson told McFadden when asked about playing more safety snaps in Fitzpatrick’s absence. “Every week I walk into that building, it is like, P we need you to do this, we want you to do that. Sign me up, I’m all in.”
Peterson seems to be relishing the opportunity to be that chess piece in the Steelers’ defense.
“This is the most fun… that I’ve been having as a defensive back because now I’m having the opportunity to play every position in the defensive backfield. I’ve been the penny safety, the free safety. I’ve been the nickel, I’ve been corner… The Steelers have really given me an opportunity to really flourish my abilities to be all over the field and be accountable and to be a guy that you can count on… to plug into all these different positions because you just can’t put any guy there.”
With Joey Porter Jr. following DeAndre Hopkins in Week Nine, Peterson traveled a lot in turn, not just flipping sides as the corner, but used at safety, in the box, and in the slot throughout the game. He played 18 snaps at free safety, 29 out wide as a corner, 15 in the slot, and 11 as a box defender. He finished the game with three total tackles and one pass defended.
“It’s just been a blessing and I’m happy that coach Tomlin has given me that opportunity and has the trust in me to put me in that position.”
With Fitzpatrick’s status unclear for Week Ten against the Green Bay Packers, Peterson could be relied on in a similar role to last week being moved all over the defensive backfield.
