Patrick Peterson selected as Vikings’ worst free-agent signing of 2021
By Adam Patrick
Some aren’t very excited about the Minnesota Vikings signing former Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson this offseason.
When the news of Patrick Peterson signing with the Minnesota Vikings became public, it was difficult to find a bunch of people in the team’s fan base that were unhappy with the addition of the veteran cornerback.
The Vikings are coming off a disappointing 2020 season in which an inexperienced secondary was a top factor in the team’s struggles. With Peterson now a part of the roster, it feels like Minnesota’s defensive backfield is going to get back on track in 2021.
Not everyone is thrilled about Peterson’s addition to the Vikings, however. Some believe he is getting too old and he’s not worth the kind of money Minnesota coughed up to sign him.
Is Patrick Peterson the Minnesota Vikings worst free-agent signing of 2021?
Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay recently shared his list of the worst free-agent signings of 2021 for every team in the NFL. For the Vikings, Kay went with Peterson, which is a bit surprising. He attempted to explain why this might actually be the case.
"“Minnesota ultimately ended up paying double what it likely would have taken to retain a steady contributor in [Anthony] Harris while bringing in a defensive back who is a year older and coming off a pair of disappointing seasons. Peterson has clearly lost a step from his early Hall of Fame-caliber days with the Arizona Cardinals and has struggled to keep up in man coverage in recent years.While the Vikings should still be able to carve out a role for the intelligent cornerback, he isn’t going to make anywhere near the type of impact he was capable of just a few short years ago.”"
Anyone that has watched the NFL for the last few seasons knows that Peterson has seen his performance take a step back. But Minnesota likely isn’t expecting the veteran cornerback to go out and have an All-Pro season.
Would it be great if Peterson returned to his All-Pro form in 2021? Of course it would be. But the Vikings are still getting a solid, Pro Bowl-caliber cornerback that can utilize the direction of head coach Mike Zimmer, and revitalize his career in purple and gold.
Kay is aware that Dakota Dozier, arguably the worst starting offensive lineman in the NFL last season, was a free agent this year, and Minnesota re-signed him, right? How in the world is the signing of Peterson worse than the Vikings bringing back Dozier?
Kay could have even made a case for Dalvin Tomlinson since Minnesota essentially signed a nose tackle to be their three-technique next season. But instead, he went with a guy in Peterson who gets to learn from Zimmer for the next year, a coach whose reputation is built on being one of the absolute best when it comes to coaching defensive backs.