By the end of the 2023 season, DB Patrick Peterson should have played over 200 snaps at safety, the vast majority coming over the last four weeks. He has started the past two games there and will start in the finale at that position as well, whether Minkah Fitzpatrick is back or not.
While the move was precipitated by a string of injuries (and one suspension), it’s fair to wonder if that is what is in the cards for his future with Peterson set to be 34 next season. And he admits the idea is one that he has warmed to greatly in recent days—a far cry from his earlier entrenched position against it.
“Honestly, I always said, ‘If I have to play safety, it’s probably time for me to retire’”, he told reporters yesterday, via the team’s website. “But I will say, playing safety gives me so much more joy because it’s something that I’ve never done before”.
He went on to talk about how coming to work and continuing to develop his game at safety over the past several weeks and doing something different has made it much more fun. “I’m still getting my feet wet back there. We’ll see where it goes from here. I will say I’m getting comfortable back there”.
To date, Peterson has played 163 snaps at safety this season. He has played 563 at outside cornerback, about half of which came in the first five weeks of the year. Another 313 have come in the slot or near the line of scrimmage, by far the most versatile he’s ever been asked to be before in his career.
It’s a challenge he was open to and even excited for when he signed with the Steelers this past offseason, but he probably didn’t imagine he would be ending the year as a safety. And I’m not sure how plausible he may have felt it would be to potentially start at safety as early as 2024.
Another thing he said early after signing was that he always saw himself playing 14 seasons, which would take him through to the end of the two-year deal he signed with Pittsburgh. But he’s since frequently acknowledged how a position change could extend his career and elongate his playing window.
“I think it does. Coming into this season, into Year 13, I knew I couldn’t hit those 21-miles-per-hours anymore”, Peterson said about potentially playing beyond his original expectations in the slot or at safety, “and I knew [there] was gonna have to be an evolving door that I would have to walk through. It just so happened that injuries started to pile up on us”.
With Keanu Neal still on the Reserve/Injured List and Damontae Kazee still suspended, Peterson will continue to start at safety in the finale even if Fitzpatrick does return. Even Trenton Thompson is still only practicing on a limited basis, so he could continue to be unavailable as well. But Peterson has been ready and willing to play the part. What will next year hold, or beyond that?
