Rapid Reactions: Cardinals CB Patrick Peterson reportedly asks for a trade

After the news of Arizona Cardinals firing offensive coordinator Mike McCoy hit on Friday, a major shockwave came on Monday.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that cornerback Patrick Peterson has asked for a trade and wants out of Arizona.

Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks refused the notion the team will consider trading Peterson.

“We’re not trading Patrick,” he said on Monday. “That’s out of the question.”

Here are the rapid reactions from the 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station shows on the air and our staff.

John Gambadoro, co-host of Burns & Gambo

“I have spoken with some former teammates of Patrick Peterson and what I can tell you is — I have one player who says he doesn’t want to be part of a rebuilding situation again. He wants to win a championship before he retires or have an opportunity to win.

And then I asked him about the coaching staff, ‘Is it Wilks? Is it Holcomb?’

He loves the coaches. Speaks highly of Wilks. He’s not disgruntled about anything except winning.”

Dave Burns, co-host of Burns & Gambo

“It can always get worse. I believe that it can always get worse. I’m saying by doing this, it’s already gotten ugly.

He’s already taken it to that level with this.

For goodness sake, we’ve got his cousin Bryant McFadden has already tweeted out where [Peterson] wants to go.

You can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube. It’s out there. This is already ugly. This is already a mess. This already undermines everything that the Cardinals and Steve Wilks are trying to accomplish right now.

Patrick Peterson has made this a giant mess.”

Dan Bickley, co-host of Bickley & Marotta and columnist

“Now you ask yourself, ‘What do you do if you’re the Arizona Cardinals?’

Do you go to Patrick Peterson and say, ‘Patrick, can we please go to counseling together? Can we fix this? Would you like us to fire the head coach as well?’

I don’t know if you can do that.”

Vince Marotta, co-host of Bickley & Marotta

Somehow I thought that the firing of Mike McCoy as the Cardinals’ offensive coordinator would act as the first step in the healing process for the rest of what has been a disastrous season.

I was wrong.

Monday’s report from Adam Schefter that indicates Patrick Peterson, of all players, wants to be traded is an absolute bombshell. Peterson has been one of the most consistent players in football during his time in Arizona in addition to being a consummate professional. If the report is true — and we have no reason to believe it isn’t — it’s a sign of something that has been absent from this organization for a long time: Dysfunction.

At this point, it’s not fair to pin everything on the new coaching staff. After all, Peterson may have been unhappy during the last two mediocre seasons and didn’t make anything public. But the fact that this has come to light now, in the midst of a 1-6 start, suggests that Peterson is at the end of his rope and this might be unfixable — especially with only a little more than a week until the trade deadline.

It’s disappointing, to say the least.

Luke Lapinski, co-host of The Rundown and reporter

There are too many layers to this and none of them are good. Even if the Cardinals don’t actually trade Patrick Peterson, the bigger issue is simply that he may want out in the first place. To me, that speaks to a larger problem.

As excruciating as this season has been, I’ve clung to the belief that the defense is salvageable. That the constant stream of three-and-outs by the offense has left the defense on the field far too long (35:06 per game, by far the worst in the NFL) to truly evaluate what they can do. They still have star power in Peterson and Chandler Jones, and upside in guys like Budda Baker and Markus Golden.

To me, the defense is the best chance Arizona has to maybe grab a few more wins in 2018. And it’s the better half that the Cards can lean on to jumpstart a (hopefully) better 2019 campaign. But this is the leader of that defense apparently asking out. That sure seems to indicate this team has deeper problems than just Mike McCoy’s play calling.

If it’s me, I’m doing everything I can to save this and I’m not moving him if at all possible. You just never get equal value back in deals like this. Trading maybe the best cornerback in the league is the sort of thing you only do to jump to the top of the draft and get your potential franchise QB… but Arizona already has that in Josh Rosen. So now you’re dealing him for picks? And then hoping one of those picks turns into a corner that’s half as good as Patrick Peterson? That’s how teams become irrelevant in a hurry.

That said, if the situation is too far gone and the Cards get to the point where they feel like they have no choice but to trade him, I’m talking to a team like Oakland. After their deal with Dallas today, the Raiders suddenly have three 2019 first round picks now. And you never know what you might be able to pry away from Jon Gruden. See: Mack, Khalil.

Kevin Zimmerman, ArizonaSports.com editor and reporter

After news of Peterson’s unhappiness was reported by Adam Schefter, Cardinals coach Steve Wilks admitted he’d not heard his star cornerback express displeasure. He also said he’s watched a focused player in practices and games. All that may be true, and it’s a good sign Peterson wants this to be as low-key as possible.

Forward-facing, Peterson has echoed his head coach’s comments. From Wilks to defensive coordinator Al Holcomb, there’s been no displeasure regarding Peterson’s commitment to the day-to-day.

The fact remains that he reportedly wants out because, at the very least, he can tell this team doesn’t have the talent — that it should go into full rebuild mode. As much as Wilks and the front office might try to tell the rest of the league they won’t deal Peterson, this comes down to a gut-check time for general manager Steve Keim. Does he refuse to budge and go down a path that looks a lot like Jimmy Butler and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA?

Peterson doesn’t seem the type of make as much of a scene if that’s the base, but if Keim retains the cornerback, it’s expressing a commitment to try to win … amidst a lost season. Right now, one could imagine that the Cardinals are doing the smart thing. They’re trying to get another team to put all their chips into the table heading into the Oct. 30 trade deadline. And if that happens, maybe Arizona can oblige Peterson and get a doozy of an asset collection back in the process.

Kellan Olson, ArizonaSports.com editor and reporter

I’m fascinated by the reactions to Peterson wanting out because it says a lot about how you feel when it comes to a player’s obligation to an organization.

Peterson has made seven straight Pro Bowls and was a first-team All-Pro player for three seasons. He has been the top piece of the roster alongside Larry Fitzgerald during the team’s best run of winning in Arizona. Peterson has just about matched Fitzgerald as a representative of the franchise, the highest compliment possible.

He is 28 years old, the age where a prime for athletes is never higher. It’s all about now for Peterson, especially if he wants to contribute at the highest level to a winning team.

So when the Cardinals are the worst team in football and are clearly a year or two away from competing for a playoff spot, I completely support Peterson asking for a trade.

There are 2.5 seasons left on his contract as a top-tier corner, meaning the return could also be outstanding for the Cardinals. With the team’s current timeline and how many holes they have on the roster, isn’t this the type of move they should be considering anyway?

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