Getty Patrick Peterson #7 of the Minnesota Vikings looks on during pregame warm-ups prior to the game against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium on November 21, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
The Minnesota Vikings have signed three cornerbacks in free agency this offseason — none of which are veteran and eight-time Pro Bowler Patrick Peterson.
Peterson has pleaded that he would like to return to Minnesota after his one-year, $8 million contract with the Vikings expired this offseason.
But three weeks into free agency, neither side has come to an agreement.
Judd Zulgad of SKOR North spoke on Peterson’s prospects with the Vikings on Monday, March 29, after Minnesota had exhausted most of its available cap space in free agency.
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‘He Wants Too Much’
On an episode of the Purple Daily podcast, Zulgad speculated that the veteran cornerback is unlikely to return to the Vikings with his understanding of the Peterson situation.
“I don’t think Patrick Peterson is coming back,” Zulgad said. “I’ve heard he wants too much and that it’s not going to be possible, that the Vikings are not going to be able to pay the freight on what Patrick Peterson is asking for. So, he wants to come back. I think the team would like to have him back, [but] I think his price point is going to price him out of playing for the Vikings again.”
Minnesota currently has $10.6 million in cap space, according to Over The Cap, but needs roughly $4.3 million to sign their rookie class. Over The Cap has valued Peterson at $6.5 million this season, which is in the ballpark of the remaining cap space.
However, Peterson, who said he’s fielded interest from other teams, remains unsigned and his price point is unknown.
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has remained in contact with Peterson and expressed that when it comes to any signing, “if the value meets the player, we’ll strike. If it doesn’t, we won’t.”
“(Peterson) texted me the other day,” Adofo-Mensah said. “Pat Pete’s a great person, a great player in this league for a long time. … You want to make sure you respect a player of his caliber, his expertise in this league, but also the reality of the situation we’re in from a salary-cap standpoint. Again, those conversations are ongoing, and we’re trying to work through those problems.”
Peterson ranked 63rd among NFL cornerbacks with a 63.0 Pro Football Focus defensive grade, a below-average mark for the soon-to-be 32-year-old cornerback.
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Vikings Update CB Room
In the past seven days, the Vikings have signed three cornerbacks: former Green Bay Packers cornerback Chandon Sullivan, Denver Broncos cornerback Nate Hairston and Tye Smith, who was on the team’s practice squad in 2021.
Minnesota has bodies in the cornerbacks room but is still a starting cornerback short of fielding a respectable unit in 2022. Third-year cornerback Cameron Dantzler is a favorite at outside cornerback, while Sullivan is poised to assume the starting slot corner role.
The consensus in the upcoming draft is the Vikings will take a top-3 cornerback that should be a Day 1 starter in Minnesota.
That would effectively leave Peterson out unless he took a veteran minimum.
“I stand where I stood in December,” Peterson said. “I loved everything about Minnesota. At the end of the day, the ball’s in their court now if they want me back. I’m a free agent right now, and I have a couple teams that say that they’re interested, so we’ll see what happens in the next couple days.”
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Insider on 3-Time All-Pro’s Standstill With Vikings: ‘He Wants Too Much’