Wednesday after mini-camp practice, new Steelers defensive back Patrick Peterson --- listed at 32 years old but could pass for about 21 --- was standing in his locker alone. Shirt off, wearing just a pair of workout shorts with the Steelers insignia on the right leg.
His eyes danced and darted around the room, a smile radiated from one ear to the other.
This is the place he wants to be.
This is the place he needs to be after beginning his career with 11 seasons in Arizona then playing the past two in Minnesota.
This is the insignia he wants on his practice shorts, the men he wants coaching him and the city and fanbase he wants to do it in front of as his career winds down.
As he explained, this is all so … right.
“It’s so surreal man, finally having an opportunity to be in this locker room,” Peterson said. “Being a fan of this organization since I have been in the league and Coach Mike Tomlin. Man. It’s so surreal to finally be in here, in a place like this. And also, a blessing because this is one of the more storied franchises in the NFL, one of the franchises that is used to winning and that’s something I want to be involved with and be around.”
Peterson has been getting his feet wet on the field in recent days, pushing through drills in minicamp and preparing for the season. Earlier this week though, he had a taste, off the field, of just how fervent and ardent Steelers ties run.
You see, Peterson hosts a podcast called ‘All Things Covered’ with his cousin, former Steelers defensive back Bryant McFadden. In a moment that roared through social media and went viral, McFadden and Peterson hosted former Steeler Troy Polamalu as a guest.
McFadden, unbeknownst to Polamalu, pulled a letter out during the podcast taping that Polamalu had written to him years back when the two were Steelers teammates and McFadden was realizing a difficult time.
It forced an incredible moment of candor and was emblematic of just how close those old Steelers teams were --- and how much Polamalu meant to his teammates.
McFadden choked back tears. Polamalu comprehended the gravity of it all. Peterson had a first-row seat for what it was like to have a Steelers bond.
“Unbelievable feedback, unbelievable comments we’ve been getting ever since we dropped the episode on Monday,” Peterson said. “Obviously a lot of people don’t get to see Troy speak or get to see that side of him or get to hear those type of stories.
For B-Mac to share that with the world, it just shows how great of a human Troy is.”
So what’s the lesson to extract from all that, now that Peterson has turned into a guy in a locker room younger players look to for guidance?
He stood in his locker Wednesday afternoon and thought for a moment, then found the proper words.
“You just never know what words can do to someone,” Peterson said of Polamalu’s message to his cousin. “As we all say, B-Mac still reads those words to this day. And I just thought that was so powerful and so authentic.”
So powerful, so authentic. That, too, is Peterson.
Such is evident by the way Peterson has approached youngster Joey Porter, Jr. in minicamp.
If Porter needs a tip, Peterson is there.
If Peterson sees a chance to jump in and coach Porter and make him better, he doesn’t hesitate.
It is glaringly evident Peterson is a guy who wants to impart the wisdom he’s learned in this league to a guy like Porter --- who most likely will still be in it long after Peterson is retired.
“I want to give Joey all the nuggets that he needs to be successful because I was in his shoes before,” Peterson said. “And I had guys show me the ropes. Now I’m in Year 13 and I don’t have much tread left on the tires. Why would I hold information that I know can help Joey be a next great?
“He has the size, he has the ability, he has all the intangibles. Now, I want to make sure he has what it takes between the ears to be an all-time great.”