The Pittsburgh Steelers may not have made the playoffs last season, but they finished the 2022 campaign as strong as any team in the league. There is a lot of optimism surrounding the team heading into 2023 as they made major strides during the second half of the season.
Kenny Pickett improved a ton following the bye week, turning the ball over much less frequently. The offense has ample weapons around him to work with and when healthy, the defense remains as productive as usual.
The Steelers’ success defensively comes from their ability to get after the quarterback. T.J. Watt remains a force and they have a strong bookend in Alex Highsmith opposite of him. Cameron Heyward continues to dominate on the interior and Minkah Fitzpatrick is an All-Pro at safety.
The only thing missing from this defense was a go-to cornerback. With Cameron Sutton moving on in free agency, as he agreed to a three-year deal with the Detroit Lions, cornerback became an even more pressing need.
Pittsburgh didn’t drag its feet in filling that void, as they went near the top of the free agent pool to address it. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Steelers have agreed to a deal with veteran Patrick Peterson.
Peterson and the Steelers have reportedly agreed to a two-year deal, which is a huge addition to the team. He addresses one of their major needs and is coming off an excellent 2022 season with the Minnesota Vikings.
Minnesota’s pass defense was abysmal, but Peterson put together one of the best seasons of his career. His 80.7 grade was the second-highest of his career and he intercepted 6.9 percent of the passes thrown into his coverage. His 82.5 coverage grade was fourth best in the NFL, quite a feat for someone in Year 12.
The Steelers came out of nowhere to land Peterson, as they weren’t linked to him much leading up to free agency. However, one draw for him could be the presence of Teryl Austin, who is Mike Tomlin’s defensive coordinator and coached Peterson from 2017-2019 on the Arizona Cardinals.
Whatever drew Peterson to the Steel City, the Steelers are happy to have him. He fills arguably their biggest hole this offseason and rounds out what should be one of the best defensive units in the NFL in 2023.
