An ex-All-Pro player facing his former team always makes for a great storyline in the NFL. But there will be a little extra juice when Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Patrick Peterson faces the Arizona Cardinals in Week 13.
While Peterson squared off against the Cardinals as a member of the Minnesota Vikings twice, December 3 will be the first time Peterson sees the Cardinals since his very critical comments of quarterback Kyler Murray.
Peterson tried to downplay the storyline when talking to reporters on December 1.
“It’s in the past,” Peterson told the media, via Steelers Now’s Nick Farabaugh. “I’m looking forward to the matchup we have against those guys this year. It’s behind us now. I’m looking for a new storyline on Sunday.”
About a year ago on his podcast, All Things Covered, Peterson said, “Kyler Murray doesn’t care about anybody but Kyler Murray.”
Is There a Beef Between Patrick Peterson & Kyler Murray?
After hearing Peterson’s podcast remark, Murray responded to Peterson on X (formerly Twitter).
“This isn’t true … you on some weird s***,” Murray wrote on X, including Peterson’s handle. “You got my number, if you really felt like this as a ‘big bro’ or ‘mentor’ you supposed to call me and tell me, not drag me so your podcast can grow …”
If Peterson has Murray’s number, then presumably Murray has Peterson. So, it seems appropriate to ask why the quarterback didn’t follow his own advice and call Peterson with his response.
But even still, Murray’s message was loud and clear — according to the quarterback, Peterson’s remark was unnecessarily public and hurtful.
Peterson made his follow up message clear too.
“First of all, I don’t have any beef with Kyler Murray,” Peterson told Vikings reporters on December 1, 2022. “What I meant by my comment was, when you’re a franchise quarterback, you have to carry yourself a certain way. So if you’re having bad body language, pouting, moping on the sideline, what type of energy you think that feeds off to your teammates?
“That’s what I meant about Kyler caring about himself because he’s not putting the team first.”
Peterson Calls Murray ‘Unique Talent’
Week 13 will be Murray’s fourth game of the season since returning from his 2022 ACL injury. He hasn’t run as often as he’s done in the past, but Murray is averaging 6.1 yards per rush.
He’s also averaging 6.7 yards per pass, which is more than half a yard more than what he averaged last year.
That dual-threat ability will arguably be the Pittsburgh defense’s biggest test since Lamar Jackson in Week 5.
“He’s definitely is a unique talent,” Peterson said of Murray this week. “There’s no question about that. He does a great job of creating extra time for his receivers down the field. He does a really, really good job of avoiding those free blitzes.
“We know that they love, they love to boot him and to run that snake post option. Kyler is one of a kind quarterback.”
Murray has led the Cardinals to a 1-2 record this season. He has 2 passing touchdowns, 3 rushing touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
Murray’s only previous matchup against the Steelers came during his rookie season. He completed 20 of 30 passes and tossed 2 touchdowns, but he also had 3 interceptions and 5 sacks.
Peterson has recorded 6 combined tackles and 3 pass defenses in two previous matchups against the Cardinals. He played for Arizona from 2011-20.
Peterson and Murray were teammates for three seasons.
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Patrick Peterson Facing Cardinals For First Time Since Slamming QB Kyler Murray