Nathan Peterman’s NFL journey will apparently continue for another season.
The former Buffalo Bills quarterback spent last season with the Chicago Bears, starting on the practice squad and moving up to the active roster and eventually playing after an injury to signal caller Justin Fields. Peterman will now be back in the Windy City after signing a new deal, NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero reported on March 30.
“Veteran QB Nate Peterman is re-signing with the #Bears, per source,” Pelissero tweeted. “A valued piece of the QB room, Peterman is now entering his seventh NFL season and second in Chicago.”
Bears Bring Back Nathan Peterman
Peterman will likely compete to earn the backup spot behind Fields next season. As Pro Football Talk’s Myles Simmons noted, the Bears signed another experienced veteran quarterback to provide a steady hand in case of an injury to the starter.
“Earlier in the offseason, the Bears added P.J. Walker through free agency and released Trevor Siemian to adjust the group behind starter Justin Fields,” Simmons wrote.
Peterman was on Chicago’s practice squad last season and was elevated to the active roster after Fields suffered a dislocated shoulder in a December game against the Atlanta Falcons. He saw action against the Bills in a December 24 game, coming in for the final series after Buffalo scored to take a 35-13 lead. Peterman completed three of his first passes, reaching the 50-yard line before throwing an interception on a Hail Mary attempt as time expired.
The Bears are elevating Nathan Peterman to the active roster, per @MikeGarafolo.
Peterman appeared in three games last season, starting one. He completed 14 of 25 passes for 139 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Prior to joining the Bears, he spent two seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders but rarely saw the field. Peterman only appeared in two games during his tenure, completing 3 of 5 passes for 25 yards.
Nathan Peterman Endured Rocky Tenure With Bills
Peterman became a polarizing figure with Bills fans during his brief tenure with the team. He came to the Bills as a fifth-round draft pick in 2017 and earned a controversial start when head coach Sean McDermott benched starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor. The decision drew some pushback, then led to ridicule when Peterman turned in a historically bad performance against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Peterman threw five interceptions in 14 attempts in the game — all in the first half. He was benched at halftime and Taylor once again assumed the starting job, helping to lead the Bills to a 9-7 record that broke the team’s 17-year playoff drought.
The Bills traded Taylor the next offseason and drafted Josh Allen, but it was Peterman who actually won the starting job in training camp.
His second chance at being an NFL starting quarterback lasted only a little longer than the first. Peterman was pulled as the Bills fell behind 40-0 to the Baltimore Ravens in their season opener, with Allen taking over and holding the starting job. When the rookie quarterback was injured later in the season, the Bills opted to sign veterans Derek Anderson and Matt Barkley rather than re-insert Peterman.
Peterman was released later that season.
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Polarizing Ex-Bills QB Who Started Over Josh Allen Returns to Bears