Peterson’s tenure in New York comes to an end

By Connor Byrne  |   Sunday, May 28, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

New York Giants
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On Friday, the New York Giants parted ways with former starting cornerback Will Peterson, who has been battling a severe back injury since early last season. The injury is a stress fracture, and it cost him all but two games in the 2005 season. Prior to suffering the injury, Peterson consistently lined up in the Giants' starting defensive backfield for four years.

The soon-to-be 27-year-old broke into the league as a third-round pick out of Western Illinois in 2001, and immediately made an impact on the Giants' roster. In his rookie year he accumulated 54 tackles in 16 games, as well as an interception. 2002 was a disappointing sophomore year for Peterson, who ended up appearing in just 12 games, while picking up 40 tackles and a pair of interceptions.

In 2003, Peterson's third season, he battled injuries yet again and appeared in just five games, which led to some concern in New York about his durability. He erased those worries the next season, though, playing in all 16 games and having the best season of his career, with 68 tackles, two interceptions and 11 pass deflections. Unfortunately, thanks to the aforementioned stress fracture in his back, Peterson missed 14 games in '05. Because of the injury, his career is in serious jeopardy.

Since Giants GM Ernie Accorsi got tired of awaiting Peterson's status, he elected to cut the veteran loose. Although it sounds harsh, Peterson's welcome in New York was simply worn out. The Giants did more than enough to address the cornerback position this offseason, signing proven veterans Sam Madison and R.W. McQuarters, as well as five-year man Jason Bell, who was formerly with the Houston Texans. Other than free agency, the Giants addressed the corner position through April's draft, by adding former Maryland standout Gerrick McPhearson in the sixth round.

The release of Peterson comes just a few months after the New York Giants released his former defensive backfield mate, Will Allen. Peterson and Allen were the Giants' starting cornerbacks for the last few seasons, but were often criticized for poor coverage and the inability to consistently make impact plays. Allen is now with the Miami Dolphins, while as mentioned before, Peterson will be fortunate to ever play football again.

If the 6-0, 200-pound Peterson can regain his health, he'll have an opportunity to catch on somewhere. After all, he was a starter for the New York Giants, even though he probably shouldn't have been. A corner-needy team out there, such as the San Francisco 49ers, might be able to use Peterson in a No. 3 role, but that's in the unlikely event that he gains a clean bill of health. For his sake, let's hope so, as he could indeed have a serviceable career ahead of him.

--Connor J. Byrne can be reached at cbyrne@realfootball365.com

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