The topic of former Pittsburgh Steelers CB Patrick Peterson returning to the Steel City for 2024 has been mentioned a couple of times this offseason, including by Peterson. He mentioned that he would enjoy returning to the Black and Gold after spending one season with the team in 2023.
Peterson was released this offseason in a cap-saving move by Pittsburgh, freeing him from a two-year pact he signed with the team in March 2023. Since his release, Pittsburgh has traded for CB Donte Jackson from the Carolina Panthers and also brought back CB Cameron Sutton on a one-year deal. However, Sutton has been handed an eight-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, meaning Pittsburgh will be without its de facto starting nickel cornerback for the first half of the regular season.
Given Sutton’s status as well as who Pittsburgh has behind Porter and Jackson on the roster, a potential reunion with Peterson does come off as quite plausible should his market continue to be depressed as the regular season looms closer. Behind Pittsburgh’s two entrenched starters on the depth chart are Darius Rush, Cory Trice Jr., Thomas Graham Jr., Anthony Averett, Josiah Scott, Beanie Bishop Jr., and Grayland Arnold. Rush was released by the Indianapolis Colts out of training camp after they selected him in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He spent time on the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad before getting poached by Pittsburgh, playing 39 defensive snaps as a rookie.
Trice never saw the field as a rookie after Pittsburgh selected him in the seventh round of last year’s draft. The long corner from Purdue tore his ACL in training camp, missing his entire rookie season. Both he and Rush possess the measurables and athleticism you look for but are both Day 3 picks with little seasoning should they be called upon in case of injury to one of the starters.
As for the options at nickel cornerback, Pittsburgh is working with a bunch of names with either little-to-no exposure in a starting role, or guys who fell out of favor with other teams and are looking for another opportunity here in 2024. That explains the case for Averett. He started 27 games for the Ravens and Raiders from 2018-2022 but was released from the 49ers and spent a short time with the Lions last season but never saw the field. Graham has played 149 defensive snaps but hasn’t started a game since getting drafted in 2021 while Arnold has logged 228 defensive snaps with one start in four seasons.
Scott has a fair amount of experience through four seasons along with four starts with the Eagles in 2022 but has bounced around a fair amount himself since the Jaguars traded him to Philadelphia in 2021. Bishop is a UDFA out of West Virginia who is competing for a roster spot and is taking first-team snaps at nickel corner. But he is undersized and doesn’t have any NFL experience.
Peterson may be well past his prime, but he is an experienced veteran who played 1,096 defensive snaps (97%) last season, including 208 slot snaps as well as some time at safety when Pittsburgh dealt with injuries across its secondary. He brings leadership and a mentor role to the table as well, being another figure who helped develop Porter last season as a rookie. The two would get extra reps together in practice as well as study film together to help Porter adjust to the speed and complexity of the NFL game as a rookie.
Peterson showed that he can brings some much-needed versatility last season. Given Pittsburgh’s lack of depth at both cornerback and safety, it would make sense to bring back the grizzled veteran on a cheap, one-year deal to give the Steelers some insurance if there isn’t a clear frontrunner at slot corner until Sutton returns from suspension.
GM Omar Khan mentioned on Thursday that they won’t close the door on Peterson’s return. Given the current state of Pittsburgh’s secondary along with Peterson’s familiarity with the team and skill set, a reunion seems sensible sometime between now and the start of the regular season after Pittsburgh has been able to evaluate the current options it has in-house.
