The loss of cornerback Cam Sutton, who jumped to the Detroit Lions for a lot more money than the Steelers were offering, should not be surprising on several fronts.
But the addition of aging former All-Pro Patrick Peterson as a replacement for Sutton is surprising because it is uncharacteristic of the Steelers' approach to signing outside free agents, particularly older ones.
Sutton and defensive end Larry Ogunjobi were the two unrestricted free agents the Steelers were seeking to re-sign to multi-year contracts. Ogunjobi is still a possibility, maybe even more importantly now.
It is not known what offer the Steelers made Sutton, but according to several sources it was "nowhere near" the three-year, $33 million contract with $21 million guaranteed he agreed to with the Lions.
The situation with Sutton, 28, is mindful of what happened two years ago with nickelback Mike Hilton, who left in free agency and signed a four-year, $24 million deal with the Cincinnati Bengals. The Steelers liked Hilton and wanted to retain his services because of his blitzing ability and the way he played along the line of scrimmage. But they were only going to go so high with an offer and not chase him if another team made him a much higher offer.
And so it is with Sutton, whose $11 million average salary is nearly triple what he averaged the past two seasons with the Steelers. Sutton's role in the Steelers defense made him more valuable than Hilton because he was their best cornerback on the roster and had the versatility to play four different positions in the back end.
But the Steelers, who already have the highest-paid defense in the league, were only going to offer so much to keep him.
Which brings them to Peterson.
A former eight-time Pro Bowl cornerback who will begin his 13th NFL season with his third different team, Peterson will be 33 when training camp begins in July. It remains to be seen at what level Peterson can continue to play as the second-oldest player on the team, behind only Cam Heyward.
That the Steelers signed him to a two-year, $14 million contract with $5.85 million guaranteed is not surprising. The deal is cap-friendly because Peterson will count just $4.225 million against the salary cap in 2023, according to overthecap.com. The bulk of his deal comes in the form of a $3.85 million salary and $3 million roster bonus in 2024. If the Steelers cut him after the 2023 season, he will count just $2.925 million against the cap in 2024.
What is surprising is the Steelers signing a 33-year-old player on his fifth different contract this early in free agency, which doesn't officially start until Wednesday. Typically, aging players such as Peterson usually have to wait until after the initial flurry of free agent signings to get a deal, sometimes until after the draft.
Historically, the Steelers have always tried to sign unrestricted free agents coming off their first contract who hopefully had their best years ahead of them, not behind them. The move to sign Peterson was not proactive; it was not part of the plan. It was reactive after the Steelers lost Sutton.
If nothing else, the move is again indicative of Tomlin's continued desire to bring in former No. 1 draft choices (Peterson was the fifth overall choice by the Arizona Cardinals in 2011). While the Steelers have brought in the likes of Justin Gilbert, Taco Charlton, Karl Joseph, Mark Barron and Melvin Ingram over the years — even Joe Haden and Tyson Alualu — none of those former No. 1 picks can touch the pedigree of Peterson, a three-time All-Pro with 34 career interceptions.
However, it will do nothing to change whatever strategy the Steelers have for drafting a cornerback next month, possibly even in the first round.
