By Matt Ferris
Ever since coming into the league in 2011, Arizona Cardinals’ cornerback Patrick Peterson has been one of the best at his position every season, making the Pro Bowl roster in each of his first seven seasons.
But on Oct. 22, the All-Pro cornerback requested to be traded from the Cardinals, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Schefter reported Peterson is frustrated with the current situation in Arizona with the Cardinals terrible play and wants to win.
Peterson is right to be upset with the Cardinals’ play this season. Through seven games this year, the Cardinals are 1-6 and quite frankly have been the worst team in the NFL.
Their offensive has been abysmal and their defense not much better. Peterson has been one of the few bright spots for the Cardinals this season.
This is huge news around the NFL, as trading for a lockup corner could transform a lot of teams into Super Bowl contenders.
The first team that should highly consider trading for Peterson is the Kansas City Chiefs. So far in 2018, the Chiefs have been the one of the two best teams on offense, but the complete opposite on defense.
Their defense ranks dead last in yards per game, giving up a whopping 435 yards on average, 316 of which are coming through the air.
After trading their star cornerback, Marcus Peters, to the Rams in the offseason, Kansas City is feeling the effects and desperately needs to bolster their secondary.
Bringing in an accomplished veteran like Peterson to the defense, paired with the most explosive offense, could very well erase the question marks surrounding the Chiefs and make them the favorite to win the AFC.
Another team that needs to seriously contemplate bringing in Peterson is the New England Patriots.
This season, the Patriots’ defense has not looked quite like the New England defenses we’ve seen in the past, which is surprising with Bill Belichick at the helm.
But Peterson would fit right in with the Patriots with his no-nonsense attitude, and his versatility is something New England desperately needs.
Peterson can play any position in the secondary at a high level, and can even cover outside receivers or slot receivers, not to mention he would be a tremendous help against the Chiefs’ devastating air attack.
Bringing him in could seriously improve the Patriots’ 25th-ranked defense and easily make them the top dog in the AFC.
The final team that needs to inquire about bringing in Peterson is the defending Super Bowl champs.
Philadelphia’s defense has been solid this season, but nothing like what it was last season, and the secondary is the biggest reason for that.
Besides Ronald Darby, who has been very good this season, the Eagles’ cornerback situation is very shaky.
Other than Darby, they have Sidney Jones and Jalen Mills, both of whom have the potential to be good one day, but right now, are young and inexperienced.
The Eagles lost veteran cornerback Patrick Robinson this offseason to the Saints and have not been the same on defense since.
Bringing in Peterson could help the Eagles in two ways. Not only would it make their secondary much better, but bringing in a guy like Peterson to mentor the young players in the secondary could be crucial to the Eagles’ success in the future.
Clearly in a rebuilding state right now, it will be interesting to see if the Cardinals move Peterson before next week’s Oct. 30 trade deadline.