Buy Or Sell: Patrick Peterson will be in a Pittsburgh Steelers uniform by the start of the regular season.
Explanation: While the Steelers released Patrick Peterson rather than pay him nearly $7 million, they remain open to bringing him back. The price has to be right and the opportunity for Peterson has to make sense as well. Rarely do the Steelers re-sign a player they cut, but they don’t really burn bridges either. Myles Jack ended up back in Pittsburgh eventually just last year.
Buy:
This isn’t about whether you think Peterson played awful last year or not. This is about whether the Steelers want to re-sign him, so their opinion about his performance is what matters here. And while they decided he’s not worth $7 million, the market will be their ally.
I think Peterson quickly realized that he’s done making big money in his playing career. If anybody else signs him this offseason, it’s going to be in the low range. Maybe someone is willing to pay him more than the Steelers, but he also seems to want to return to Pittsburgh.
Peterson likes Mike Tomlin and the Steelers, with family connections even before he got here through Bryant McFadden. He understands why they let him go, and he clearly doesn’t seem to harbor any ill will. If anything, he’s been going around campaigning for his return.
Sell:
It all rides on how the rest of the offseason goes for the Steelers with respect to Patrick Peterson. They still need to fill out their defensive back room, and especially the cornerback position. All they have right now are Joey Porter Jr. and Donte Jackson, whom they acquired via trade this offseason. James Pierre already signed elsewhere while Levi Wallace and Chandon Sullivan are still out there as high-snap players from 2023.
If the Steelers draft a cornerback, they’re much less likely to look Peterson’s way, I think. They also still have some young developmental players in Cory Trice Jr. and Darius Rush, though the former is still rehabbing. But they’ll want to have room for him, and that’s potentially four cornerbacks already right there.
Peterson understands teams aren’t going to show much interest in him until after the draft at this point. Then the teams that still need defensive back help are likely to at least kick the tires a bit harder than they have, Peterson having said that he’s already had some light conversations with some. He’ll play somewhere in the league in 2024 just because he wants to, but Pittsburgh sees him as a fallback option.
With the Steelers’ 2023 season in the rearview mirror following a disappointing year that came up short in the playoffs once again, it’s time to start asking more questions. Questions about the team’s future in 2024 and beyond. Questions about The Standard.
The rookie class of a year ago was on the whole impressive, but they need to step up into staple starters in 2024. And they likely need a strong influx of talent in both free agency and in the 2024 NFL draft yet again. In addition to a revisitation of the coaching staff.
These sorts of uncertainties are what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
