Patrick Peterson not at Cardinals mini-camp Tuesday

TEMPE, Ariz. — Patrick Peterson showed some burst. It came on Instagram but not at the Arizona Cardinals’ voluntary veteran mini-camp on Tuesday.

John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station reported Peterson was not expected to report to camp on Tuesday and when he will rejoin the team is uncertain. Arizona does not intend to trade the Pro Bowl cornerback, and Gambadoro adds Peterson is upset with the organization. It is not believed to be a money-related issue.

Gambadoro added that the Cardinals had not shopped Peterson to other teams in possible trade scenarios.

Peterson indeed was not at the open portion of practice Tuesday, though did attend the team’s voluntary strength and conditioning workout that was open to the media on April 9.

Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury spoke Tuesday on Peterson’s absence.

“It’s voluntary. I communicated with Patrick and, you know, we know where he’s at, we know what’s going on. Kind of a conversation to keep between ourselves,” Kingsbury said.

“I don’t know if it’s disappointing. If he hadn’t communicated, and we didn’t know what was going on, I think that’d be a different matter.”

From late Monday night into Tuesday morning, the star cornerback posted four times to his Instagram account and replaced his profile photo of him in a Cardinals uniform with another of Peterson wearing a suit.

All of the posts were cryptic, and a few comments by Peterson and fellow NFL players made it appear choppy waters remain ahead after Peterson requested a trade this past season, backed off his stance and then in January told fans at a Phoenix golf tournament that he was in Arizona to stay.

Peterson is under contract for two more seasons. He’s making $11.25 million in cash this year and $12.6 million next. For 2019, he’s tied for the fifth-highest total cash salary among NFL cornerbacks, per Spotrac.

The most striking social media hit was a post of Peterson and five of his former Cardinals teammates accompanied by the comment, “My boys told me to watch out for the snakes in the long grass! #savageSZN.”

Former Arizona players Tony Jefferson, Darnell Dockett, Chris Johnson and Jerraud Powers all commented, hinting that the Cardinals disrespected the group of defensive backs, including Peterson.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

My boys told me to watch out for the snakes in the long grass! #savageSZN

A post shared by Patrick Peterson (@realpatrickpeterson) on Apr 23, 2019 at 5:47am PDT

The first of Peterson’s posts simply read, “I see where we STAND!” It elicited a comment from Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joe Haden that read, “At least 17per…..min… been doing this 4 Years 💰🙌🏽✊🏽.”

Peterson also posted an audio recording with the intro of the Drake freestyle “Duppy”:

I’m in shock
The nerve, the audacity
Okay

And finally, Peterson posted a picture that simply read, “WILD ONES” with an edited caption of Kodak Black lyrics: “I can’t [let] … them ppl knock me off my pivot, God set me down started talking then I LISTEN”.

Neither Peterson nor any of his teammates were expected to be made available to the media on Tuesday. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury was expected to address reporters after the practice session.

Peterson, an eight-time Pro Bowler, tallied 54 tackles for the 3-13 Cardinals in 2018, picking off two passes and adding five passes defensed.

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