Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson received his second contract after three years in the NFL. Teammate and close friend Tyrann Mathieu is currently negotiating his own second deal after three seasons. Peterson recently told PFT Live that he believes Mathieu will get his new contract soon.
“I was in kind of a similar situation when it was time for me to sign a new deal and obviously wanting a new deal,” Peterson said. “Like I tell Tyrann all the time, let his agent handle that and also it’s gonna be a long, drawn out process, you just have to be patient. I know it will happen, just don’t know when it will happen but the Cardinals organization understands what Tyrann means to the football team, to the community, and when you have a top notch player like that, that just doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time and we have great ownership upstairs and the General Manager and the president and owner of the team. I mean those guys know at the end of the day what Tyrann means and like I said, I’m quite sure that the deal will get done here pretty soon.”
I then asked Peterson, tongue partially in cheek, whether he supports Mathieu getting a new deal as long as Mathieu doesn’t get more than Peterson.
“Not at all,” Peterson said, laughing. “I want him to get every penny that he deserves and if the team obviously wants to pay him more than me, I don’t have a problem with that all because Tyrann’s very, very gifted. He’s very talented, he means so much to this defense as you can tell. I believe we missed a beat last year when he got knocked out for the rest of the season with the ACL injury. But I don’t have a problem with that at all. If they feel he’s worth more than me, it is what it is.”
Mathieu previously predicted on PFT Live that his negotiations will be “kind of a wrestling match but at the end of the day as long as we understand it’s a business and as long as we take care of our relationships I think it’ll be all right.”
The core of the wrestling match could hinge on whether Mathieu should be paid as a safety or a cornerback, since he plays more corner than safety. Mathieu’s pair of ACL tears also could be an issue at the bargaining table.
Regardless, everyone continues to be optimistic that the deal will get done. Now it just needs to get done.
