A bold move by the Chargers could involve a veteran corner from the NFC West

With each new free agency period that comes in the NFL, there are going to be fans who will hope and pray that their team goes out on a limb to sign at least one notable player. A guy who will make a substantial impact on the team in the immediate or simply a veteran with some name power that could add something new to the team’s chemistry.

With this idea in mind, the folks of Football Outsiders in conjunction with ESPN, wrote about one “daring” move that each NFL team could make this offseason. For the Chargers, that move would be to sign veteran corner Patrick Peterson.

Whether the Chargers choose to re-sign Michael Davis should have no bearing on also trying to bring in Patrick Peterson,” says FO. “Defenses around the league have embraced building from the secondary, and signing Peterson could give the Chargers a strong trio of cornerbacks to work with if they choose to keep Davis. Peterson, though not coming off his best season, can handle the outside and shadow any wide receiver, while Casey Hayward could kick back inside to the nickel position.”

When reading that, you can see that Football Outsiders apparently believes the Chargers will release Chris Harris Jr. For what it’s worth, I do believe either Harris or Hayward will be gone this offseason, but it’s up to the staff to figure out which is more important to the team’s immediate success.

If the Chargers do decide to let Harris walk, the idea of moving Hayward back inside isn’t all that crazy. He was the starting nickel for the Packers early in his career and his lack of long speed at his age doesn’t bode well for his future success on the outside should he continue to remain there.

FO goes on to discuss how Peterson’s versatility would only add more value within Brandon Staley’s defense, much like Derwin James is expected to in his return to the field this year.

“Giving new head coach Brandon Staley, the former Rams defensive coordinator, a movable piece like Peterson could pay huge dividends. Staley is at the forefront of defensive creativity in the NFL right now, and having a cornerback who can move around and cover anyone the way Peterson can could help put the Chargers’ defense over the top. Providing Peterson a change of scenery from Arizona’s horrific defense should help revitalize his play in 2021, as well.”

In the end, I’m not sure if the money will be right to make a signing like this happen unless the Chargers make a notable amount of cuts in the coming weeks. It’s possible, yes, but is it all that likely? I’m not entirely sure as of now.

So what’s everyone’s thoughts on this hypothetical move? Yay or nay? Why or why not?