Patrick Peterson Trade Rumors: Patriots Haven't Had a Single Conversation on CB
October 24, 2018
Trade rumors have been swirling around cornerback Patrick Peterson, but don't expect the New England Patriots to get involved in those talks.
Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports reported Wednesday: "A source tells me [New England] hasn't had a single conversation about making a deal with Arizona for the 28-year-old corner. Noodling about how the team would be able to make him fit is a 'waste of time.'"
As Curran noted, the Patriots would have to get creative to fit his $11 million salary under the cap, which likely prohibits them from making a move for the Pro Bowl corner.
On Tuesday, however, former NFL player and current CBS Sports analyst Bryant McFadden—who is Peterson's cousin—told the "Doug & Wolf" show on 98.7 FM Arizona's Sports Station that the Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints had expressed interest in landing Peterson (h/t Kevin Zimmerman of ArizonaSports.com):
"There are a boatload of teams that would love to trade for Pat. The three best teams that have been pretty aggressive so far in a day's time (since reports of the request surfaced) is, of course, the Saints, the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots. Those three teams have really been pretty aggressive for the most part trying to see exactly what it would take to make a trade become a reality."
The Saints are likely out of the running after trading a 2019 fourth-round pick and 2020 seventh-round pick to the New York Giants for cornerback Eli Apple. The Patriots appear to be out of the running given their cap situation. And the Cardinals may not be inclined to deal Peterson regardless.
"Oh no, we're not trading Patrick," head coach Steve Wilks said earlier in the week, per Bob McManaman of AZCentral.com, when reports emerged that Peterson had requested to be dealt. "That's out of the question."
Those comments won't stop interested teams from inquiring, however, especially considering Peterson is a seven-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro. He's also playing excellent football this season, earning an 83.3 grade from Pro Football Focus, good for fourth among cornerbacks.
For the 1-6 Cardinals, stockpiling draft picks by trading a veteran star for Peterson may ultimately make more sense than keeping him around in a lost season. If they go that route, however, it seems unlikely the Patriots will enter the bidding.