Patrick Peterson has downplayed any element of today’s game between his current team and his former one, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals, being of the “revenge” variety. In part because he’s already faced the Cardinals before, doing so with the Minnesota Vikings before coming to Pittsburgh.
But evidently, there are still some hard feelings. As discussed by NFL Network’s Omar Ruiz Sunday morning, Peterson wasn’t happy with how he left in Arizona.
“We always joke about prominent players facing their former teams as revenge games, but for Patrick Peterson today, it’s no joke,” Ruiz said. “It is exactly that. He told me this week that he still feels disrespected the way his tenure came to an end in Arizona. A slap in the face, he called it.”
This isn’t even a report. It’s first-hand information from Peterson. And will add an extra layer of motivation for him today. The fifth-overall pick of the 2011 draft, Peterson was an instant star for the Cardinals. A 16-game starter as a rookie, he made the Pro Bowl and All-Pro team primarily for the sensational plays he made in the return game, running back four punts for a touchdown, including an incredible 99-yard score to beat the St. Louis Rams in overtime. His four scores that year tied the NFL record, the last and one of just four players in history to do so, joining Devin Hester, Rick Upchurch, and Jack Christiansen.
Peterson spent a decade with the Cardinals, making eight Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams. A free agent after the 2020 season, he signed a one-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings. At the time, Peterson expressed surprise about leaving Arizona and said as much at his intro presser with his new team.
“Don’t know why it didn’t work out,” he said via Cards Wire back in 2011. “Things happen. I definitely never saw myself playing for another team, but here I am today playing for the Minnesota Vikings.”
According to then-GM Steve Keim, the two discussed a contract extension but couldn’t agree on their numbers. Peterson’s one-year deal with the Vikings was worth $7 million. Ostensibly, the Cardinals were offering far less. On his All Things Covered podcast in 2021, Peterson was more revealing, highlighting a strained relationship with Keim, who stopped returning his text messages. Peterson said he was fed “bullshit” by the team about its cap situation, going out and signing J.J. Watt while Peterson was left in the dark about a potential new deal.
“And whenever he sees the Cardinals on the schedule, he wants to prove to them he can still play,” Ruiz said of Peterson. “He said it meant the world to him to hear Mike Tomlin single him out this week as a veteran leader who’s providing mentorship to the younger players.”
In two years with Minnesota, Peterson faced his former team twice. He’s 1-1 against them, a narrow 2021 loss followed by a 2022 victory. Peterson played well in the latter, finishing with four tackles and three pass deflections. But he’s also looking for his first interception against the team who drafted him. What better time to do so than today.
