Steelers Future Hall Of Fame Cornerback May Have Significantly Extended His Unbelievable Career In Week 16

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been hit with the injury bug in 2023. Kenny Pickett falling victim to an ankle injury has been the most talked about recently, but the defense has had some horrible luck as well. The top three starting inside linebackers are all out in Week 17 against the Seattle Seahawks and the safety position has been riddled with issues. Minkah Fitzpatrick an Keanu Neal have missed a ton of time and Damontae Kazee was suspended for the remainder of the regular season after a big hit on Indianapolis Colts' star wide receiver, Michael Pittman Jr. in Week 15.

The safety position looked extremely different in Week 16 as the Steelers went on to beat the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium. Eric Rowe stepped up in a big way filling in as he came up with an interception in the second quarter that led to a third Pittsburgh touchdown. He deserves a bunch of props for his play, but another veteran got comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Patrick Peterson is nearing the end of his career. The three-time All-Pro signed with the Steelers in the 2023 offseason and was expecting to play cornerback throughout the season. His football savviness, however, allowed Head Coach Mike Tomlin to get creative with Peterson against the Bengals. Peterson played alongside Rowe and came up with an interception of his own.

It exposed the cornerback position a bit, but Levi Wallace played well, which allowed Peterson to lurk as a safety for the majority of the game, rather than play up on wide receivers as he normally would do. Steelers fans can expect to see more of the same against the Seahawks in Week 17 (if Fitzpatrick can't go) and it will be important due to the threat of the deep ball from Geno Smith, Tyler Lockett, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and DK Metcalf.

Playing cornerback in the NFL gets tougher as players get older. Wide receivers are getting faster and stronger each year it seems, and that makes it difficult for guys like Peterson to keep up with the status quo. The eight-time Pro Bowler will be 34 entering the 2024 season and could potentially be entering the final year of his career if Pittsburgh keeps him around.

According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Peterson is looking forward to potentially making this move to safety permanent. It ended up giving him a second wind of success in the NFL.

"I feel like this is a great move for me at this stage of my career. We have good corners who can be a cornerstone for this team. This could be my second career," Peterson said.

Peterson makes a very good point. The emergence of Joey Porter Jr. has allowed the team to be a little more aggressive when utilizing Peterson as safety. The cornerback position will need to be addressed in 2024 with Levi Wallace entering free agency, but there's no doubt that the Steelers rookie defender has been a huge difference-maker in his first season.

Steelers May End Up Retaining Peterson After All

Peterson has a cap hit of nearly $10 million in 2024. He started off his first season in Pittsburgh without having too much success, but has come on strong in the latter half of the season. His ability to move to safety and play with Fitzpatrick could end up saving his job in the Steel City. If there is any silver lining to all of the injuries on defense, it just might be that the Steelers know Peterson is capable of playing safety now, and in the future.

Do you think Peterson could make a permanent switch to safety in 2024? Let us know in the comments below!

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