Patrick Peterson: Report of Cardinals and him parting ways a ‘dirty rumor’

A day after Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers raised the Lombardi Trophy, a report circulated around social media saying cornerback Patrick Peterson and the Arizona Cardinals were parting ways this offseason.

In the Monday report by FanSided’s Matt Verderame, the two sides are going their separate ways “barring a significant change in stances.”

On Tuesday, the cornerback discredited the rumor while on his All Things Covered podcast with Bryant McFadden.

“Honestly, there is no real update and it is just like what you said it was, a dirty rumor,” Peterson said. “I woke up to it this morning as well. Me and the team haven’t talked anything about contracts, haven’t talked any about parting ways. So that’s just what it is, a dirty rumor. I don’t know where [Verderame] got his insight from but that was a dirty rumor, B-Mac.

“Honestly, it just went over my head,” Peterson added. “The things that they were saying in the report I knew wasn’t true so that’s why me and my team didn’t budge on moving forward with it. Free agency hasn’t even started yet. The Super Bowl just got over with [Sunday].”

Peterson will enter free agency in March after recording 28 interceptions and 91 passes defensed over the course of his 10-year career with the Cardinals (154 games). He also added 499 tackles, 10 of which were for losses, 4.0 sacks, two forced fumbles and four QB hits.

Peterson wasn’t his normal self in 2020 despite recording 61 tackles and three interceptions. A closer look paints a different picture.

The 30-year old posted his worst coverage grade since his rookie year (53.1), according to Pro Football Focus, and led the league in penalties with 12. He also allowed 50 receptions on 75 targets. PFF tabs Peterson as the 13th-best free agent CB heading into the offseason.

The Cardinals have some decisions to make at the cornerback position with Peterson, Dre Kirkpatrick, Johnathan Joseph and Kevin Peterson all set to hit free agency.

That leaves Byron Murphy and Robert Alford, who hasn’t played the last two years due to injuries, as the lone Arizona cornerbacks still under contract.

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