The New Orleans Saints didn’t get anywhere in trade talks with the Arizona Cardinals for superstar cornerback Patrick Peterson last season, even after Peterson demanded a trade and apparently listed the Saints as his preferred destination. New Orleans cut a deal with the New York Giants instead, bringing in cornerback Eli Apple — who played at a high level after a tough first few weeks, and figures to start moving forward.
Peterson made headlines just days before the 2019 NFL Draft, going on a social media tirade and wiping his official profiles of any connections to the Cardinals; it’s all been well-documented by Andrew Joseph over at For The Win. Speculation has swirled that the Cardinals could move last year’s top pick, Josh Rosen, to add new rookie quarterback Kyler Murray with this year’s first overall selection, but there’s no indication from Arizona that Peterson is on the trade block. What if they did make the eight-time Pro Bowler available?
It’s tough to see how the Saints can put together enough compensation to land Peterson. They don’t own a draft pick in the first, third, or fourth rounds of this year’s event. Any offer of future selections (even 2020’s first round pick) could be bested by another team’s 2019 first rounder. They would probably have to make multiple future picks available.
Would it be worth it for the Saints to go for broke and mortgage more future picks in Peterson? Even if he’s one of the best cornerbacks in the game today, he’ll be 29 years old in July, nearing the end of the shelf life for most defensive backs. Any team that trades for him would be on the hook for salary cap hits of more than $10.6 million in 2019 and $12.55 million in 2020.
Besides all of that, the Saints finally seem to have their cornerbacks figured out. Apple is expected to start opposite of Marshon Lattimore, with Patrick Robinson or P.J. Williams covering the slot. Adding Peterson would result in an embarrassment of riches, with a good player or two on the sideline.
Then again, no team in the NFL has enough cornerbacks. If 2019 is the end of their window to win a Super Bowl with Drew Brees, the Saints should spare no expense. That includes draft picks that would be used on players who might have a career like Peterson’s, seven or eight years down the road.
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