Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson suspended by NFL for six games
For months, there has been speculation that Arizona cornerback Patrick Peterson has been unhappy with the Cardinals.
He altered his Instagram account to remove a description of playing for the Cardinals and he shared one post that read: “My boys told me to watch out for the snakes in the long grass!”
Speculation on social media and talk radio was rampant that Peterson wanted a trade this offseason and the Chiefs might be interesting in adding the eight-time Pro Bowler to their revamped defense. Former NFL wide receiver Antonio Bryant twice tweeted that Peterson was on the verge of joining the Chiefs. Bryant later deleted both tweets.
But Peterson won’t be playing for anyone for the first six games of the 2019 season, because he’s been suspended for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy. The league announced the suspension Thursday.
“Patrick recognizes how disappointing this is for everyone in the organization as well as our fans,” the Cardinals said in a statement. “As we all do, he understands that regardless of intent he is ultimately responsible for everything he puts in his body. Our coaching staff and our players are now aware that we will have to play the first six games without Patrick and they understand they have to rise to the challenge that it presents.”
“It’s voluntary. I communicated with Patrick. We know where he’s at and we know what’s going on,” Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury told NFL.com last month. “Kind of a conversation to keep between ourselves. If he hadn’t communicated and we didn’t know what was going on, I think that would be a different matter. It is a voluntary camp. We know that Patrick wants to be here and wants to be a part of this team.”
This story was originally published May 16, 2019 at 12:04 PM.
