NFL free agency: Vikings cornerback Patrick Peterson reportedly signs new deal with Pittsburgh Steelers
Eight-time Pro Bowl cornerback Patrick Peterson has found his home for the 2023 NFL season. He will be lining up in the defensive backfield for the Pittsburgh Steelers, according a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Peterson has spent the past two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings after a decade with the Arizona Cardinals. He started all 17 games for Minnesota this past season, notching his career high in tackles with 66, picking off five passes and had 15 passes deflected.
Among his accolades, Peterson was named to the NFL All-Decade Team for the 2010s.
The No. 5 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft coming out of LSU, Peterson is a Baton Rouge legend after a prolific college career. He spent three years with the Tigers, culminating in a memorable junior season in 2010. He was a unanimous first-team All-American, Chuck Bednarik Award, Jim Thorpe Award, Jack Tatum Trophy and SEC Special Teams Player of the Year.
More on the 2023 NFL offseason, free agency
The NFL 2023 calendar year is set to begin at 4 p.m. ET on March 15 when contracts running through 2022 will officially run out, making those players free agents. Prior to the beginning of free agency, teams will have a chance to designate one franchise or transition tag player, starting on Feb. 21 at 4 p.m. ET and ending on March 7. Beginning March 13 through March 15 teams will be allowed a legal negotiation with players who are set to become unrestricted free agents.
In addition to NFL free agency, the new year also marks the beginning of all trades being made official by the league office. April 21 marks the deadline to sign restricted free agents to offer sheets while April 26 marks the deadline for teams to match restricted free agent offers sheets. 722 players are slated to become free agents in 2023.
More on restricted, exclusive rights free agents
Players with only three years of accredited NFL experience become restricted free agents. Their original team will have the option to apply first-round, second-round, original-round, and right-of-fight-of-first-refusal tenders on players at escalating price tags. The higher the round, the more expensive the tender amount; however, if a separate team does offer a contract and the original team does not match that round pick will be conveyed from the new team to the original team. Right of first refusal only gives a team the option to match or not. If they don’t match, they get nothing in return. An original-round tender would send a draft pick from whatever round the player was drafted back to the original team if they chose not to match. The original team will have five days to match once a player signs an offer sheet from a new team.