Patrick Peterson is on course for free agency next week. He has played his entire pro career with the Arizona Cardinals, the team that drafted him No. 5 overall in 2011, and can still help a cornerback-needy team—like the San Francisco 49ers.
NFL.com senior analyst Gil Brandt recently named 10 boom-or-bust free agency candidates and attempted to find a good fit for each. Peterson was among the names. The analyst can envision him staying within the NFC West and helping the 49ers, who stand to lose Richard Sherman, Jason Verrett, K'Waun Williams, and Ahkello Witherspoon in free agency.
Why might Peterson be a solid match for the 49ers? Look no further than D.K. Metcalf for the answer. The Seattle Seahawks wideout torched the San Francisco defense with 12 catches for 161 yards with two touchdowns on 15 targets during Week 8. He was held to a more modest three catches for 21 yards on nine targets in Week 17 but showed enough in 2020 to cement himself as one of the division's best young offensive talents.
"Peterson consistently provides the same type of sticky man-to-man coverage that enabled him to hold Seahawks receiver D.K. Metcalf to one catch for 6 yards on four targets, per Next Gen Stats, in Arizona's Week 7 overtime win over Seattle," wrote Brandt.
Metcalf finished that game with just two catches for 23 yards.
Of course, Brandt wonders about Peterson's speed as he enters his 11th NFL season, especially when matched up against an opponent's top wideout. Still, it could be a gamble worth making for the 49ers, who need to add to what could become a depleted defensive backfield.
Wrote Brandt: "As they did with Sherman when he left Seattle, the Niners can still get good football and veteran leadership out of Peterson, who will surely enjoy having two chances per year to stick it to the Cardinals, should Arizona decide not to shell out to keep him."
Peterson will have suitors. So, what is he looking for in a potential landing spot?
"I'd consider playing for anybody that has … a quarterback," Peterson said on his All Things Covered podcast via ArizonaSports.com. "If you don't have a quarterback, it's going to be pretty difficult trying to win a football game, so whoever has a quarterback that can spin the rock and also collect enough wins to get in the playoffs. That gives us a shot to win it all."
Is that Jimmy Garoppolo? The 49ers have committed to him as their starting quarterback for the upcoming season—at least for now. While Garoppolo has missed 23 games due to injuries over the past three seasons, he is 24-9 as San Francisco's starter.
