According to a report on Friday, the Pittsburgh Steelers are expected to release former Minnesota Vikings cornerback Patrick Peterson.
After two solid seasons with the Minnesota Vikings in 2021 and 2022, veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson hit the free-agent market last year. Peterson wound up signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but after only one season in the AFC North, the former Vikings defensive back is expected to be a free agent again this year.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter on Friday, the Steelers are releasing Peterson this offseason with one year remaining on his contract.
The former Minnesota corner had a $3 million roster bonus that was set to kick in on March 16, so with his release, Pittsburgh no longer has to pay that.
Patrick Peterson release the latest move that proves the Minnesota Vikings GM knows what he's doing
Last year, the Vikings made the decision not to re-sign Peterson, and while some fans disagreed with the move, Friday's report proves that it was the right choice.
In addition to letting the veteran corner go explore free agency, Minnesota and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah also made the decisions to part with longtime linebacker Eric Kendricks and Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook.
Kendricks was released by the Los Angeles Chargers earlier this week, and Cook is a free agent this year after a very underwhelming season as a member of both the New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens.
Perhaps some can make the argument against Adofo-Mensah's choice to release veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen last year. Thielen wound up putting up some solid numbers for the Carolina Panthers this past season, but at the same time, the Vikings replaced him with a younger and better pass-catcher in Jordan Addison.
Adofo-Mensah has received plenty of criticism from Minnesota's fan base during his brief tenure with the franchise. But Vikings fans also need to remember that the guy he replaced, Rick Spielman, wasn't fired for doing a good job.
Adofo-Mensah has spent the last two offseasons cleaning up the mess left behind by Spielman, and now, he has the Vikings set up to have more than $100 million in salary cap space for the 2025 offseason.
Not to mention, Minnesota is also in a prime position this year to trade up and select one of the top quarterbacks in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft.
Being an NFL general manager is not an easy job, and no one around the league bats 1.000 when it comes to the decisions they make each year.
But for a guy in Adofo-Mensah who had never been a general manager before the Vikings gave him the job in 2022, he deserves plenty of praise for getting the franchise back to a spot where they might actually be able to contend for a championship within the next few years.