LA Chargers: Making the case for and against signing Patrick Peterson

The reason against Patrick Peterson: He is old and only getting older

How many times do we have to do this?

Look at who underperformed for the LA Chargers in 2020. Casey Hayward and Chris Harris. Both of which are over the age of 30 and have plenty of miles on their legs as defensive backs. I said this before last season: defensive backs age really quickly in the NFL. I remember debating the Bolt Beat staff about why we should not trust Harris and Hayward.

But how could Harris miss? He was just recently named to the All-Decade team and has as polished of an NFL career as anyone? Well, the signs were already there (he was geting worse and worse his last two years in Denver) and he is old (in NFL terms).

You know who that sounds a lot like? Patrick Peterson! Peterson is going to be 31 in July, which is the same age that Harris and Hayward were for the 2020 season.

So here the Chargers have two veteran corners that they might cut because they need salary-cap space and both guys are regression and they could potentially sign another veteran corner who is already regressing? Deja vu.

Just like Harris, the signs are there. Although it is imperfect, Peterson posted a 55.2 defensive grade and 53.1 coverage grade on Pro Football Focus last season. This is after only playing three games in 2019 due to injury. It is the worst grade since his rookie season.