Arizona Cardinals’ Patrick Peterson discusses contract situation

Last week, Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson said he would like a contract extension, but was kind of in a wait-and-see mode.

“I’m under contract for two more years, so I want to continue playing great football,” he said. “Whenever (GM) Steve Keim and (team president) Michael Bidwill address me and my agent (about a contract extension), we’ll go from there.”

The 23-year-old was asked about his contract again Tuesday, this time by ProFootballTalk. What would he do, they wondered, if the Cardinals didn’t approach him with a new deal?

“My plan is just to continue playing football at a high level,” Peterson said. “Because at the end of the day it will come. I have two more years left on my deal. I just want to continue playing lights-out football. At the end of the day, once I earn it — I won’t say it will be a relief, but it will be a joy to know that it’s time to be recognized.

“I just want to continue playing at a high level, and once that day comes I’ll be ready for it. I believe I’ve done enough work to earn that.”

As of now, Peterson is under contract for 2014 with a team option in 2015.

In three seasons since being selected with the fifth overall pick out of LSU, Peterson has made the Pro Bowl three times and has emerged as one of the elite cornerbacks in the NFL.

He’s intercepted 12 passes in his NFL career, and was assigned to cover the opponent’s top receiver on a weekly basis last season for the league’s sixth-ranked defense.

The website ProFootballFocus.com ranked Peterson as the league’s 16th-best cornerback in 2013.

At the very least, Peterson’s teammate Larry Fitzgerald said last week that he believes the cornerback’s time has come.

“I know Patrick’s deal is coming up — he needs to be compensated as the best corner in the game, which I feel he is,” he said.

Fitz has since restructured his own contract and freed up cap space for the Cardinals, a move that presumably would help them redo Peterson’s deal if that’s what they want to do.

And if it’s not, will Peterson consider holding out to get the contract he desires? He did recently hire a new agent, Joel Segal, who has had clients miss time due to contract squabbles.

“I can’t speak on that right now,” he said. “Me and my agent, we haven’t talked about some of those possibilities. But we’ll have to wait and see what happens.”

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