Eagles Should Roll the Dice on Former All-Pro Corner Who Was Just Released

Heading into free agency, the Philadelphia Eagles have over $40 million in cap space and a few glaring holes in their rotation that they are looking to address. One of those is their cornerback rotation, especially after they released Avonte Maddox earlier this week.

Fortunately for them, they will have a ton of cornerback options on the market and another intriguing one just became available.

The Pittsburgh Steelers just released veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson, according to Adam Schefter, and the Eagles should consider bringing him in as a depth option.

Eight-time Pro-Bowl CB Patrick Peterson is Hitting Free Agency

Once one of the best ballhawks in the league, Peterson is certainly not at the height of his powers at this stage of his career. He is still, however, a solid option at corner, having played every game in the last two seasons and playing over 95% of defensive snaps. He still allowed less than 60% completion when targeted in each of the last two seasons while adding seven interceptions in that span.

Peterson had signed a two-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers last season. He showed plenty of versatility, playing safety at times towards the end of the season. More than his production, it was his $9.775 million cap hit that was the impetus for the release.

At age 33, Peterson still had a better PFF grade than the likes of Bradley Roby and James Bradberry last season. If acquired by the Eagles, he would immediately be an upgrade over the disastrous secondary Philadelphia deployed during their 2023 campaign.

The Eagles need to upgrade their defensive unit if they are to have a shot at winning the NFC East. Currently, they are behind the Dallas Cowboys in odds (+135) of winning the division, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Claim your sign-up bonus of $150 and back the Birds if you think they will have a bounce-back season in 2024.

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