TEMPE, Ariz. -- Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim tried to set the record straight Friday morning about the possibility of the team trading cornerback Patrick Peterson.
"I don't know why the questions persist because I have addressed it multiple times: We are not trading Patrick Peterson," Keim said during his weekly appearance on KMVP 98.7 FM in Phoenix. "Our stance has simply been: 'Why trade a player in his prime at one of the hardest positions to find for a maybe or a couple maybes?' Love what Pat brings to the locker room, love what he brings to the field.
"Those positions are impossible to find: left tackles, quarterbacks, corners. There's no doubt, in my opinion, he is the best in the National Football League and will remain a Cardinal."
Peterson returned Monday from a six-game suspension for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drug policy,
Speculation that he may be moved before the NFL trade deadline on Oct. 29 heated up again Sunday when ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that at least three teams called the Cardinals about a potential trade for him.
Peterson requested a trade on Oct. 22, 2018, amid the Cardinals' 3-13 season. He walked back his request two days later and then apologized for it while playing the pro-am at the PGA Tour's Waste Management Phoenix Open in January.
Peterson wouldn't specifically address the new trade rumors when he talked to the media Wednesday for the first time since returning from his suspension.
"I'm here," Peterson said. "I have a contract with the Cardinals for these 10 games and next season. Whatever happens after that, that's pretty much out of my control. I'm here preparing for the Giants and preparing for the other nine games that we have on the schedule.
"I'm just happy to be back to help my guys get better. We have a lot of football left. October is the meat of the season and I'm focusing on that right now. It should be a great 10-game season for me. I'm planning on this being the best 10 games I've played in my career."