Pro Bowl cornerback Patrick Peterson has reached an agreement on a $ 10 million one-year deal with Minnesota Vikings, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old Peterson leaves the Arizona Cardinals as one of the best cornerbacks in franchise history.
He went on to eight consecutive Pro Bowls, starting his rookie year in 2011 and ending in 2019 – when he was disqualified for six games suspended for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy. Peterson is a three-time All-Pro.
Peterson’s positional flexibility is a welcome addition to the Vikings’ secondary series, which started two starters in 2020 between Jeff Gladney, who finished 529 snaps in the final last season, and Cameron Dantzler, a third-round scorer in coverage under all rookie corners in the second half of the season (41.9 from week 11-17).
With questions about the health and future of Mike Hughes’ first round corner in 2018, whose fifth-year option is likely to be rejected by Minnesota, Peterson gives the Vikings stability in the secondary series, with a season in which he had seven breaks has. 2013. His three interceptions were the most since 2016.
Peterson is widely regarded as one of the best cornerbacks of his career, known for his ability to defend the opposing offense’s top receivers on an island. He started all 128 games in the first eight seasons of his career before being suspended. In 2020, he was named by the Pro Football Hall of Fame as the 2010-2019 All-Decade Team.
Peterson played all 16 games last season and had 61 tackles and three interceptions. He has 28 interceptions in his career.
He entered the free agency with a five-year extension signed in 2014. Peterson requested a trade in October 2018 during Arizona’s dismal 3-13 season under former coach Steve Wilks, but he later apologized. However, reports of a broken relationship between Peterson and the Cardinals’ front office continued to spread, casting doubt on his future with the franchise after his contract expired in March.
ESPN’s Courtney Cronin and Josh Weinfuss contributed to this report.