Patrick Peterson hints at possible return to Pittsburgh Steelers

Patrick Peterson was still doing football things on Thursday, although he currently doesn’t have a football job. But will the former Steelers cornerback end up coming back to Pittsburgh?

It is an obvious question, one that was asked as Peterson co-hosted Good Morning Football on NFL Network. The former Steelers DB was constant in his gushing over coach Mike Tomlin throughout the morning. So there does not seem to be lingering hard feelings a week after Pittsburgh trimmed Peterson from the roster.

“I would love to return back to Pittsburgh … me and coach (Mike) Tomlin had a great dialogue when I got that dreaded call of being released,” Peterson said on the morning show. “But being there in Pittsburgh I had the time of my life, being with coach Tomlin, seeing how he was able to get his guys up week in and week out, no matter what the circumstances were. He told me the door’s still open for business, so we’ll see what happens here in the next couple weeks and month or two. And hopefully I can be a Pittsburgh Steeler again. But a team that is looking for a veteran corner, I’m out there.

“I definitely want to give it another shot to fulfill my long dream and to go win a championship.”

Steelers corner showed value when he switched to safety

Peterson is a former LSU star. Back in 2011, the Cardinals used the fifth pick of the NFL Draft to bring the cornerback to Arizona. He was the first DB off the draft board and third defender overall. Since then, Peterson has been one of the best cornerbacks in the game, making All-Pro three times. But he still will be celebrating his 34th birthday as NFL teams open training camps in July. Thirty-something cornerbacks aren’t unusual. Peterson was the 20th-oldest at his positon in 2023. Then again, older DBs aren’t that popular at the start of free agency.

The Steelers released him because of financial reasons. Pittsburgh owed Peterson a $3 million roster bonus if he still was on the team this week. Plus, his overall cap hit was $9.775 million. He signed a one-year deal with the Steelers before the start of last season. His play was inconsistent. But he helped Pittsburgh late in the season with his versatility, when he slid over to safety. He also helped mentor rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr.

Peterson indicated last month that he did not intend to retire in 2024. But other than that, he had no other specifics about where he will be when camps open this summer.