The Cardinals and Patrick Peterson appear to be moving forward together, despite the All-Pro cornerback’s trade request. A key part of Peterson reaffirming his commitment to the franchise was a 30-minute meeting with team president Michael Bidwill, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com notes (on Twitter). The parties discussed ways the Cardinals could improve, with Bidwill assuring Peterson the franchise is committing to winning, per Schefter.
“I think we definitely have a clear understanding and I have two years left under my contract, so I’m here,” Peterson said, via ESPN.com’s Josh Weinfuss (on Twitter), who adds the cornerback didn’t exactly exude much happiness during his remarks Wednesday, which could be understandable given the state of the Cardinals (Twitter link).
Peterson also responded to a question about why he wanted to be traded by saying (via Weinfuss, on Twitter), “You see the record.” He’s signed through the 2020 season but has little guaranteed money left on an extension he agreed to in 2014.
Here’s the latest out of the West divisions:
- The Broncos do not plan to sign a backup quarterback in the near future. While Mike Klis of 9News notes the team likely will add another signal-caller to either the active roster or practice squad, expect that player to now work behind previous No. 3 passer Kevin Hogan. “Kevin is the backup right now,” Vance Joseph said. “We’ll see as time progresses here. Kevin is fine. Kevin has played in games. He’s a smart guy; he’s picked it up quick and we have full confidence in Kevin.” Hogan is a career 59 percent passer who started one game and saw action in eight with the Browns from 2016-17. The Redskins waived him before the season began, and the Broncos’ subsequent claim led to Paxton Lynch‘s departure.
- Addressing the trade that sent Amari Cooper to the Cowboys, Jon Gruden said (via the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Michael Gehlken, on Twitter) this was more about acquiring a valuable draft pick than the Raiders being dissatisfied with the wide receiver. Reggie McKenzie said Monday that Dallas offering a first-rounder was a proposal he could not pass on.
- Both K.J. Wright and Ed Dickson are expected to make their season debuts for the Seahawks on Sunday, Pete Carroll said (via ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson). An arthroscopic knee surgery and a setback kept Wright out for this long. Dickson’s spent time on the NFI list because of a quad injury. The Seahawks signed Dickson to a three-year, $10.7MM deal this offseason.
- The Seahawks placed safety T.J. Green on their exempt list, and Carroll said (via the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta, on Twitter) Green simply didn’t want to play football anymore. The former second-round pick out of Clemson hadn’t seen action with the Seahawks. He’d started 11 games prior to the Colts cutting him two months ago.
- Citing Gruden’s inconsistent draft history with the Buccaneers, CBS Sports’ Joel Corry wonders how well the Raiders coach will fare in rebuilding this team that now has three 2019 first-round picks. Gruden assumed full Bucs control during the 2003 season, and only one of his draft choices (2006 first-rounder Davin Joseph) made a Pro Bowl as a Buccaneer (although, 2008 first-rounder Aqib Talib made several after leaving Tampa Bay). Both Michael Clayton and Cadillac Williams started strong before failing to match their rookie seasons’ excellence, with Corry adding Gruden’s draft work in Tampa Bay does not measure up to McKenzie’s high-end 2014 haul of Khalil Mack, Derek Carr and Gabe Jackson.