Former Minnesota Vikings DB is Retiring

The Minnesota Vikings have been rather quiet recently, after an early flurry of free agency signings in March, it appears Kevin O’Connell and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah have put their offseason into neutral, as they wait for the 2025 NFL Draft to start on April 24.

It was back in the offseason of 2021, before Mike Zimmer and Rick Spielman were fired, that the MN Vikings signed veteran defensive back Patrick Peterson, who spent decade of his NFL career racking up Pro Bowls with the Arizona Cardinals.

Former Minnesota Vikings CB Patrick Peterson retiring as a Cardinal

On Friday, after playing one season in Pittsburgh, news broke that Peterson will be signing a one day contract in Arizona on Monday, in order to retire as a member of the Cardinals organization, where he played the first 154 games of his career, which included all three of his first team All-Pro nods and all eight of his Pro Bowl appearances.

Eight-time Pro-Bowl CB Patrick Peterson will be in Arizona on Monday to retire as a Cardinal, per source. Peterson played 13 years in the NFL, including his first 10 seasons in Arizona, where he was a three-time All-Pro selection.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 11, 2025

Peterson played two seasons in purple, totalling 111 tackles, 6 interceptions and 20 passes defensed in 30 total games. He was one of the many veteran defensive backs who helped bridge the gap from Zimmer to Donatell, but left Minnesota the same offseason Brian Flores was hired as defensive coordinator.

According to Pro Football Reference, Patrick Peterson has a “Hall of Fame Monitor” score of 86.10. The average score of an HOF defensive back is 96.93. Nonetheless, Peterson has the highest HOF Monitor score of any defensive back not currently in the Hall.

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Everyone around him — including LeRoy Butler (86.5), Steve Atwater (86.28), Cliff Harris (85.28) and Aeneas Williams — are already HOF. Assuming Peterson doesn’t come out of retirement, he will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2028, where he’ll likely be a cinch 1st ballot vote.