Patriots among teams aggressively vying for Cardinals CB Patrick Peterson

Appearing on an Arizona sports radio station on Tuesday, CBS Sports analyst Bryant McFadden included the New England Patriots among those have appeared to be the most aggressive in their pursuit of the seven-time Pro Bowl corner.

“There are a boatload of teams that would love to trade for Pat,’’ McFadden, a cousin of Peterson, said. “The three best teams that have been pretty aggressive so far in a day’s time is of course the Saints, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the New England Patriots.’’

The Saints have since acquired Eli Apple from the New York Giants in exchange for two draft picks (a 2019 fourth-round pick and 2020 seventh-round choice), and the Eagles sit at 3-4 on the year and in second place in the NFC East. The Patriots, meanwhile, sit atop the AFC East and certainly have the tools and capabilities to pull off a Peterson trade despite his current, pricy cap hit.

McFadden believes that Peterson could be had for draft picks alone (he used the Marcus Peters trade to the Los Angeles Rams as a potential comparable), and even though Cardinals coach Steve Wilks said that the team has no intentions of trading the 28-year-old corner, McFadden said there's no doubt that Peterson wants out of town and out of Arizona's rebuild.

“No question he wants out," McFadden said. "We know the situation right now in Arizona. They’re currently looking like they’re going into rebuilding mode. Unfortunately, Pat does not want to be a part of that. He wants to be able to compete."

The Patriot defense is currently surrendering the 13th-most points per game (25.6), and their 275.9 yards against through the air currently stands as the eighth-worst mark in the league.

The NFL trade deadline is next Tuesday.