While it took a few weeks, the Pittsburgh Steelers have finally started to deploy cornerback Patrick Peterson all over the field. This season, Peterson has played 81 snaps in the box, 36 at safety, and 155 in the slot, moving around more from his traditional outside corner he’s occupied for the majority of his career. During an appearance on the GoJo and Golic show, Peterson said he was excited when he found out that the Steelers wanted to move him around.
“When I first signed here in April, Coach [Mike Tomlin] told me he wanted to explore some of my talents in other positions,” Peterson said on GoJo and Golic. “I never had an opportunity to do that in my career, so when he presented that opportunity to me, I was like ‘Heck yeah, I’m all in for that.’ Because I always felt that being a corner it kinda gets boring, just guarding the receiver outside the numbers, going to the right side of the field, play-in, play-out, I just felt like I can give so much more to the game.”
For Peterson, now in his 13th season in the league, he’s going to want to try and explore new things. From a mental standpoint, he has the IQ to move around, and so outside of just wanting to test himself at other positions, it’s good to move Peterson around and let him influence the game in a variety of ways. Especially given that he’s not nearly as athletic as he once was, he can move around and use his IQ to work inside or at safety.
The emergence of CB Joey Porter Jr. has also allowed the Steelers to be more creative in how they use Peterson. Knowing that there’s someone they can trust and rely on outside in Porter is huge for giving Tomlin and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin the freedom to move Peterson as they see fit. Porter has been Pittsburgh’s best cornerback this season, and hopefully he can maintain that level of player throughout the season and his career.
Peterson’s been a lot better since he started moving around, and maybe it sparked something inside him. Early in the season, when he was primarily playing corner, Peterson had struggled. But he’s played better in recent weeks as a “joker,” looking like the guy the Steelers wanted him to be when they brought him in this offseason. Even if Peterson isn’t the corner he once was, he’s still a good football player and it’s been cool to see him move around the defense this year.
Watch the full GoJo and Golic Show below.
