Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 season is getting underway after the team finished above .500 but failing to make the postseason last year, we turn our attention to the next chapter of Steelers football and everything that entails. One thing that it means is that some stock evaluations are going to start taking on more specific contexts as we get into the season, reflecting more immediate plusses and minus rather than trends over long periods. The nature of the evaluation, whether short-term or long-term, will be noted in the reasoning section below.
Player: DB Patrick Peterson
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: The veteran defensive back may be at his most valuable today given the Steelers’ depleted secondary. While they have some potential reinforcements at safety, they will be without Minkah Fitzpatrick, Damontae Kazee, Keanu Neal, and Trenton Thompson today.
From the very beginning when he first signed, Patrick Peterson talked about wanting to be more of a football player generally with the Steelers rather than just a cornerback. He even talked about how it could prolong his career. Just recently he suggested that he might even be more effective at safety because he can watch the quarterback more.
Well, he may have to do that today depending on how things go on the field. The Steelers already put him at safety last week when they lost both Damontae Kazee and Minkah Fitzpatrick on consecutive plays, the former due to ejection. Trenton Thompson also exited the game with what was classified as a stinger; though he returned, he will not be playing today.
Down so many key players at the position, it would seem Peterson playing a significant role there is inevitable even if he doesn’t technically start and act as a full-time starting safety. With Miles Killebrew, practice squad member Eric Rowe, and the returning-from-injury Elijah Riley as the other options, why not lean on your depth?
Either way, it’s just more responsibility on Peterson, including with respect to his role as a key hub of communication. With so many moving parts around him, he will be the most stable and familiar voice in the secondary.
Frankly, it will be interesting to see how the Steelers handle the situation. How much will Peterson play at cornerback and how much at safety? They can really take advantage of the situation by moving him around quite a bit and making his role much less predictable to the offense before the snap.
Then again, with the lack of stability elsewhere in the secondary, they may want to keep things as simple as possible. You don’t necessarily want to ask, for example, Eric Rowe to move around more than you have to, considering he hasn’t played in a regular-season game this year.
