Trade deadline: Patriots showing interest in Cardinals CB Patrick Peterson

UPDATE: The Patriots are “showing interest in trading for [Peterson],” per Peterson’s own cousin. Is this a PR move to try and force the Cardinals’ hands? Or are the Patriots actually trying to add the 3-time All Pro cornerback?

Original story below

—

In the first big pre-deadline trade, the Dallas Cowboys sent a first round pick to the Oakland Raiders for wide receiver Amari Cooper as the Cowboys look for a big outside target and the Raiders focus on rebuilding the roster. The 2018 NFL trade deadline is next Tuesday, October 30th, at 4:00 PM ET so there is still plenty of time for more action in the coming days.

Will the New England Patriots participate, or stand on the sideline? The Patriots have roughly $7.4 million cap space to maneuver.

Typically, the Patriots love to acquire players in the final year or two of their rookie contract, like Raiders cornerback Gareon Conley or Raiders safety Karl Joseph or Raiders linebacker Marquel Lee...wait a minute.

How about a few other reasonable trade options, like Detroit Lions running back Ameer Abdullah, Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry, or Denver Broncos running back Devontae Booker? All three have lost their starting jobs and could really fill in with the Patriots as Sony Michel, Rex Burkhead, and Jeremy Hill all recover from their injuries.

Or what if the Patriots turn their focus towards some more marquee names that become available- like Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson, who requested a trade and “desperately wants out” of Arizona?

The Cardinals are now looking at rebuilding after falling to 1-6 with an embarrassing 45-10 prime time loss at the hand of the Broncos and they’re taking calls for players, including Peterson, per CBS Sports.

The Patriots could also look into Cardinals safety/linebacker hybrid Deonne Bucannon and linebacker/pass rusher hybrid Haason Reddick, both of whom should also be available via trade.

Peterson is under contract through the 2020 season on an incredibly reasonable salary of $11 million this year, $11 million next year, and $12.05 million in 2020, in addition to $250,000 in annual workout bonuses. Since the Cardinals are responsible for all of Peterson’s signing bonuses, the cornerback is on their books for an average of $14.01 million per year.

Whatever team is able to add Peterson will have the corner for a super team-friendly $11.68 million per year, which would rank 12th for cornerbacks in the NFL. Peterson would cost a team roughly $6.5 million in cap space in 2018 if acquired this week and $5.8 million next week. That’s an amazing bargain for the uber-athletic and somehow-only-28-year-old cornerback.

Peterson is considered the best man-coverage cornerback in the entire league and is also an elite returnman. Can you imagine him roaming the Patriots secondary with Stephon Gilmore? For as great as Jason McCourty and Jonathan Jones and Eric Rowe have (or have not) been in 2018, Peterson and Gilmore would form the best cornerback duo in the league for the next three seasons.

Who needs a pass rush if no one will ever get open?

I really don’t think this trade would ever happen, but it’s fun to dream and it’s probably more realistic than the team acquiring Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. Peterson is hoping to go to the New Orleans Saints, close to where he played college football at LSU, while the Philadelphia Eagles are also hoping to make a trade.

I also doubt the Patriots would inquire about Bucannon and his $8.72 million base salary, although Reddick would make a lot of sense. Reddick is in his sophomore season and his contract is an extremely reasonable $1.69 million per year- and he has a fifth-year option in 2021.

What players do you think the Patriots should try to add before the trade deadline?