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Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson will be suspended for the first six games of the 2019 NFL regular season, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Cardinals’ CB Patrick Peterson now will miss the first six games: Arizona’s regular-season opener vs. the Lions, then games at Baltimore, at home against the Panthers and Seahawks, at Cincinnati and at home against the Falcons.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 16, 2019
There had been rumors circulating this offseason that the Cardinals trading the 28-year-old Peterson to the Kansas City Chiefs might make sense. Schefter notes in an article for ESPN that Arizona had been aware of the impending suspension, so its selection of Washington cornerback Byron Murphy at No. 33 overall adds up.
Rumors reheated in Kansas City this week when former NFL wide receiver Antonio Bryant once again speculated that Peterson could be headed to the Chiefs, but he was quickly shut down by friend-of-the-site Terez Paylor of Yahoo! Sports.
“The Chiefs have had zero talks about Patrick Peterson, as of now,” Paylor said.
Peterson first requested a trade from the Cardinals back in late October, which he recanted in January. In mid-April, Peterson removed all references to the Cardinals from his social media accounts. It was then reported that Peterson would miss all Cardinals offseason workouts.
A new report from 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s John Gambadoro on Thursday said Peterson was discontent because the Cardinals were unwilling to restructure his contract so that he could save the money lost from the suspension.
Gambdoro: Peterson was not asking to be traded. He knew the suspension was coming and wanted to rework his contract and avoid taking losses, Gambadoro added. He believed he could have saved $2 million or more.
Pro Football Talk noted this was practice the Patriots used with quarterback Tom Brady to lessen the monetary blow of “Deflategate.”
Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury was asked about Peterson’s possible participation in Cardinals OTAs last week.
“I’m not sure about OTAs. Everything is voluntary,” he said, via Darren Urban of the team’s website.
What does this mean for Peterson’s value? A point-counterpoint.
At this exact moment, Peterson’s value is at an all-time low—and he probably won’t be moved anytime soon. Our Kent Swanson speculates the Cardinals would be best suited to wait until the middle of the season to try to shop the three-time All-Pro.
Offer a 3rd for Pat P right now.
— Kent Swanson (@kent_swanson) May 16, 2019
ill say that they get even more than before. Look at trade deadline costs v out of season costs across sports. Way higher when you need something more. Chasing the ring doesn't come cheap.
— Aaron Borgmann (@RehabAllStar) May 16, 2019
After serving his six-game suspension, Peterson will be eligible to return October 20 against the New York Giants.
That is a long time from now—by then, perhaps the Cardinals may find a way to work things out with the troubled-but-gifted cornerback. Sometimes lost when it comes to Peterson, he still has two years left on his Cardinals contract, and the Chiefs may not be all that interested, anyway.