Thirteen seasons and 184 games into his NFL career, Patrick Peterson is confident he’s prepared for anything.
That includes playing different positions in the Pittsburgh Steelers secondary, be it a full-out switch or via moving around within a season or game.
But for his first on-field team practice with the Pittsburgh Steelers this week, Peterson was in a familiar place.
Peterson confirmed he has been taking reps at left cornerback through the first two days of organized team activities at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. That’s the position he has manned for the majority of a career that is likely destined to someday earn him induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Peterson takes over the left cornerback spot from Levi Wallace, who has switched to the right side for his second season with the Steelers.
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“I played lot more in Buffalo on the right side; Pat, for most of his career, I’ve seen him play on the left side,” Wallace said. “We went back to our normal spots.
“Nothing too deep into it. Obviously he gets seniority. I don’t want to make it hard on him anyways. I’ve studied him for a long time and like the way he plays and I’ve seen him a lot on that left side. … When he came over here, I’m like, ‘I’ll go play right where I’m comfortable.’ It was an easy transition.”
Peterson signed a two-year, $14 million contract with the Steelers, who let Cameron Sutton and Terrell Edmunds leave via free agency and recently released Ahkello Witherspoon and Arthur Maulet among their 2022 secondary.
But after the Steelers drafted outside cornerback Joey Porter Jr. with the No. 32 overall pick, speculation has been that Peterson might better serve the Steelers in a hybrid role, be it snaps in the slot/nickel or even at safety.
Peterson on Wednesday lauded the versatility of the Steelers’ defensive backs corps and the myriad options that gives the defense. He also implied that he could be moving around at some point this season.
“As of right now I am left corner, but there have been talks,” Peterson said. “Coach says he wants to obviously use me in a bunch of different positions. We haven’t really hit on any of those topics just yet, but I am sure in the near future we will start talking about things, especially when we start getting into the thick of things at training camp.”
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