Arizona CB Patrick Peterson ‘would love to be a Cardinal for life’

Patrick Peterson; Arizona Cardinal for life?

According to the cornerback, he wouldn’t mind it.

Sitting down with Sirius XM recently, Peterson spoke on the turmoil that’s surrounded him for months, while also talking about his future with the team.

“I mean, honestly, what happened last year, it was a lot of turn of events,” Peterson said of his trade demand and the team’s overall success last season. “Especially being one game removed from going to the Super Bowl, and getting new coaches, getting new staff, a new scheme, when you’re so used to playing in a 3-4, and you felt that it was good for the players that you had on your roster.

“So, it was just a lot of whirlwind going on last year and I was just frustrated. I love Arizona. I definitely want to be there. Just that time of the year, last year, like I said, it was just very, very tough to deal with.”

Last year, the Cardinals suffered one of their worst seasons in franchise history, compiling a measly 3-13 record, the worst in the NFL.

Pair that with the change from a 3-4 defensive scheme to a 4-3, and that makes for an unhappy defense, most notably Peterson.

The frustrations boiled over following a 45-10 drumming by the Denver Broncos on the team’s lone primetime game of the year. Not only did the team fire offensive coordinator Mike McCoy, four days after the loss, it was reported that Peterson requested a trade.

“Being one of the leaders, I definitely felt it shouldn’t have gone that way, but people upstairs can trade players and try to shop players around whenever they need to,” Peterson said of last year’s request. “So, I didn’t see what was wrong with me asking for a trade at the time.

“It kinda works both ways, but right now I’m in a very, very happy place with the team.”

From there, Peterson went on to post 19 tackles and two passes defensed in the remaining nine games of 2019. All told, the CB recorded 54 tackles, two of which were for losses, two interceptions and five passes defensed on his way to his eighth Pro Bowl selection.

But Peterson wasn’t fully out of the spotlight as he didn’t show up for the team’s voluntary veteran mini-camp, hours after a series of cryptic messages on his Instagram account.

Then came the suspension.

A month after his no-show, Peterson was hit with a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy.

“All of this is behind us right now, obviously, and something new just came up with me being suspended for the first six games,” Peterson said. “But you know, I’m a man, I have to lick my wounds and be able to move forward from all of this.

“I have moved forward and I’m ready to see what the future has to bring for me.”

And while he has to sit for the first six regular season games, the 2019-20 season is already shaping up quite differently.

Gone is the old regime, with defensive coordinator Vance Joseph taking over the reins and bringing back a player favorite in the 3-4 scheme. On the other side of the ball there seems to be more optimism moving forward than in the year prior, with 2019 No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray and a new-look offense preparing for its first season under new head coach Kliff Kingsbury.

The team also went out and got added help defensively through the draft and free agency, showing Peterson the team is working to get back to where it once was just a few years ago.

“I would love to be a Cardinal for life, but things happen. Hell, something can change next month,” Peterson said. “The things happen not only in football, but in the world in general.

“So, I would love to be a Cardinal for life. I would love to be one of those guys to bring that organization its first championship.”

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