The Denver Broncos are in need of reinforcements across several positions, particularly on defense. According to Alex Ballentine from Bleacher Report, the safety and cornerback spots are the team’s most significant vulnerabilities as they head into the 2024 season. Ballentine suggests that adding a seasoned player like two-time NFL All-Pro Patrick Peterson could provide the necessary boost.
“The Broncos just need help in the secondary,” Ballentine wrote. “Whether it’s bringing in another cornerback or finding a safety to replace Justin Simmons, it’s tough to imagine the current lineup being enough for the season. Although Peterson is 34 and past his prime, he still started 16 games for the Pittsburgh Steelers last season and performed adequately. He also played a few games as a safety towards the end of the season. If he’s open to making that transition, he could help stabilize a young Broncos secondary.”
Peterson, who started 17 games for the Minnesota Vikings in 2022 and has recorded seven interceptions over the past two seasons, has been remarkably durable throughout his career, missing only two games in 13 NFL seasons.
The Broncos kick off the season on September 8 against the Seattle Seahawks. Drafted fifth overall out of LSU in the 2011 NFL Draft, Peterson spent the first 10 years of his career with the Arizona Cardinals, establishing himself as one of the NFL’s top cornerbacks and punt returners. He signed a five-year, $70.5 million extension with the Cardinals in 2014 and was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 2010s.
After two seasons with the Vikings, Peterson joined the Steelers on a two-year, $14 million deal before the 2023 season. In his one season with the Steelers, he recorded two interceptions, 42 tackles, and 11 pass deflections.
What would Peterson cost the Broncos? Likely not much, as he signed a one-year, $4 million contract with the Vikings before the 2022 season.
#PlayOfTheDay (2010): LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson takes a punt back 60 yards for a touchdown, then strikes the Heisman pose. LSU would go on to beat West Virginia 20-14. pic.twitter.com/vgVuW3OL90
— Pick Six Previews (@PickSixPreviews) November 19, 2020
Broncos Need Help Opposite NFL All-Pro Surtain
It’s a testament to the state the Broncos’ franchise is in that cornerback is listed as one of the team’s weaknesses, because that’s where their best player is with Surtain, a two-time Pro Bowler and NFL All-Pro selection in 2022.
Surtain made PFF’s list of the Top 50 Players in the NFL at No. 35 — the highest of any player on the Broncos.
From PFF: “Denver’s defense was in trouble for a good portion of last season, and even their best players struggled because of it. Patrick Surtain II gave up three touchdowns on the season and a 93.9 passer rating when targeted, the worst mark of his career. But when assessing the 24-year-old, it seems foolish to put that down to anything other than variance at the position and the issues around him. The tape still shows Surtain is an elite cover cornerback and one of the best in the game.”
Denver has exercised its fifth-year option on Surtain’s contract that would pay the 24-year-old $19.8 million in 2025 but the more likely path is he’ll receive a lucrative contract extension that could make him one of the highest-paid defensive backs in NFL history.
Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame
