One of the Arizona Cardinals’ many free agents is cornerback Patrick Peterson, who has been with the team since they drafted him fifth overall in 2011. He has said he wants to return and, according to owner Michael Bidwill, the team wants him back.
Unfortunately, it isn’t as simple as that.
“Pat and I have had a number of conversations,” Bidwill said on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM on Thursday. “I’ve been very clear we wat to have him back. We all know that the salary cap is going to go down, so I think a lot of these veteran players need to work with us. They need to understand that while their salary expectations and compensation expectations may be one thing, we’ve got to look at it in the reality that the salary cap is going down.”
Peterson is coming off a contract that made him the highest-paid cornerback in history at the time. He made more than $12 million in 2020.
He probably won’t be able to return at that price.
It is unknown what his salary expectations are, but the Cardinals might not be able to accommodate them, especially since they don’t have much cap space.
Bidwill remains optimistic.
“It’s our hope that we can work something out that works for both the club and for Pat and keep him in a Cardinals uniform,” he said. “He’s been an important part of what we’ve done in the past and hope to keep him in the future.”
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