While he wanted to play for head coach Mike Tomlin, another reason DB Patrick Peterson wanted to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers last offseason was because of their interest in expanding his game beyond just a strict outside cornerback.
No doubt one of the reasons for that is because he is 33 years old now and in his 13th NFL season. He was more than pleased to see the Steelers draft CB Joey Porter Jr., and not just because he once played with Joey Porter Sr. while with the Arizona Cardinals.
“I see a lot [of myself] in Joey. We talk about it all the time”, he said yesterday, via the team’s website. “I can remember when I played with this dad and I had those number one matchups, having those responsibilities week in and week out. And I will say I’m happy that he does have those responsibilities because I’m a little bit too old to be doing that at this stage of my career”.
Peterson began the season strictly playing the outside cornerback position for the most part with Levi Wallace on the other side. Porter came in to take some snaps in dime packages. It wasn’t until after the bye week that Peterson started seeing more time in the slot as Porter’s snap count rose, eventually ascending into a full-time starter.
“Joey has all the tools that he needs to be successful in his game, and I’m just so happy to be with him to watch his young career flourish”, Peterson said, repeating a sentiment he has expressed frequently throughout the year, “because I was in his shoes once upon a time in my career”.
Himself once a fifth-overall draft pick out of LSU, Peterson is an eight-time Pro Bowler and a three-time first-team All-Pro as an outside cornerback. He currently leads all active players in career interceptions with 36, two ahead of his former Minnesota Vikings teammate, Harrison Smith, though his last interception came while playing safety.
Oh yeah, he has started the past two games at safety, playing zero snaps at outside corner, having now logged 163 snaps on the season at safety, according to Pro Football Focus. It’s something that the Steelers only briefly dabbled with during training camp, but injuries forced the issue.
On the season, he has still played over half of his snaps on the outside, but in addition to his 163 snaps at safety, he also has another 313 snaps either in the slot or in the box near the line of scrimmage. It’s by far the most varied usage he has ever seen in his long career, logging over 1,000 snaps at outside cornerback just last season.
With Peterson under contract for 2024, that gives the Steelers some options about how they want to make use of him. They know they now have Porter as their top cornerback, who has lockdown potential. They may not want Peterson to be his opposite on a full-time basis. Could Cory Trice Jr. or Darius Rush emerge as a starter by then?
