Patrick Peterson returning to Vikings? We might already know the answer

All-Pro cornerback Patrick Peterson recently shared a cryptic post on his Twitter account that might have revealed his future with the Minnesota Vikings.

After spending the first 10 seasons of his career with the Arizona Cardinals, Patrick Peterson has spent his last two years in the league in purple and gold as a member of the Minnesota Vikings. In 2022, Peterson had a bit of a resurgence, as he received the 12th-best overall defensive grade from PFF among 118 qualifying NFL cornerbacks.

For the third straight offseason, the veteran corner is scheduled to become a free agent in March. Recently, Peterson shared a post on his personal Twitter account that some believe was an indication of him expecting to return to Minnesota this year.

https://twitter.com/P2/status/1624811095746809856?s=20

Will Patrick Peterson return to the Minnesota Vikings for the 2023 season?

On the latest episode of the “Access Vikings” podcast, the Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling indicated that this specific tweet from Peterson probably had some intentions behind it.

"“From the little bit I heard, Patrick Peterson was in Arizona for the Super Bowl [and] the Vikings also had people in Arizona for the Super Bowl, I don’t think [that tweet] was an accident.I think there were some conversations behind that tweet that led to Patrick Peterson tweeting out a lock and tweeting out pictures of himself in Vikings uniform.”"

Peterson turns 33 in July and he’s coming off a very solid season with Minnesota. The question remains whether or not the Vikings want to bring him back for at least one more season.

Aside from Peterson, Minnesota’s cornerback group was full of youth and inexperience in 2022, and unless they’re comfortable with guys like Akayleb Evans and Andrew Booth Jr. at the top of their depth chart, bringing back an experienced veteran certainly isn’t a terrible idea.

Ultimately, it will come down to how Peterson is looking to get paid. The Vikings aren’t expected to have a ton of money to spend this offseason, so if the veteran corner is looking to cash in one last time before his career eventually comes to a close, Minnesota might not be the place for him.