Kevin Lamont Peterson (born March 22, 1994) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

who is a free agent. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. He previously played for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

and

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

Early years

Peterson played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

at Wagoner High School in

Wagoner, Oklahoma Wagoner is a city in Wagoner County, Oklahoma, Wagoner County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 8,323 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census,CensusViewer: Population of the City of Wagoner, Oklahoma. Retrieved March 16, 201/ref> c ...

. He recorded 1,621 rushing yards, 25 rushing touchdowns, 42 tackles and 3 interceptions his senior year in 2011, helping Wagoner win the Class 4A State title. This was the first football state championship in school history. In 2011, Peterson was named Oklahoma's Defensive Player of the Year by ''

The Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circulation) lists it as the 59th larges ...

'' and also earned ''

SuperPrep ''Super Prep'' is a sports magazine based in Laguna Beach, California, published in since 1985. It was founded and is published by Allen Wallace, a lawyer. Its main focus is to provide recruiting information on high school football players. In 19 ...

'' All-American honors. He also participated in track and basketball at Wagoner. In May 2011, he won the state championship in both the

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

and

200 meters The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

College career

Peterson

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

for the

Oklahoma State Cowboys The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University–Stillwater, Oklahoma State University, located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Stillwater. ...

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

from 2012 to 2015. He played in 13 games, starting 1, in 2012, recording 16 solo tackles, 4 tackle assists and 2 pass breakups. He played in 12 games, starting 11, in 2013, recording 20 solo tackles, 4 tackle assists, 2 interceptions and 4 pass breakups. Peterson played in 13 games, all starts, in 2014, recording 53 solo tackles, 6 tackle assists, 2 interceptions and 11 pass breakups. He played in 12 games, starting 11, in 2015, recording 36 solo tackles, 6 tackles assists, 1 interception, 6 pass breakups and 1 fumble recovery. He missed the first game of the season due to injury. In 2015, Peterson was a

Jim Thorpe Award The Jim Thorpe Award, named in memory of multi-sport athlete Jim Thorpe, has been awarded to the top defensive back in college football since 1986. It is voted on by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. In 2017, the award became sponsored by Paycom ...

semifinalst, earned First-team All-

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its fo ...

honors and was named a team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He majored in education at Oklahoma State. He was invited to play in the

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

in January 2016. However, he suffered a high-ankle sprain before the game and did not play in it.

Professional career

Peterson was rated the 42nd best cornerback in the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

by NFLDraftScout.com.

Lance Zierlein Lance Zierlein is a sports analyst and commentator. He has hosted sports talk shows on KILT 610, KBME 790, KGOW 1560 AM, and KFNC 97.5 FM in Houston, Texas Career Zierlein graduated from Lamar Consolidated High School in 1988. Following high sc ...

of NFL.com predicted that he would be drafted in the sixth or seventh round, stating "Size limitations make a move inside as a nickel corner possible, but he has enough quickness and coverage savvy to stick on a roster."

Chicago Bears

Peterson signed with the

as an undrafted free agent on May 9, 2016. He was waived by the Bears on August 30, re-signed by the team on September 1 and waived again on September 3.

Los Angeles Rams

Peterson was signed to the

' practice squad on December 27, 2016. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Rams on January 3, 2017. On September 4, 2017, Peterson was waived by the Rams and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on September 16, waived on September 19 and signed to the team's practice squad on September 21. He was promoted back to the active roster on November 22, 2017. On August 11, 2018, Peterson was placed on injured reserve after he suffered a torn ACL in the Rams' first preseason game. Without Peterson, the Rams reached

Super Bowl LIII Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Confe ...

where they lost 13-3 to the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

. Peterson was waived during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019.

Arizona Cardinals

On September 1, 2019, Peterson was claimed off waivers by the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

. He played in 14 games before being placed on injured reserve on December 18, 2019. He finished the season playing 14 games, with 22 tackles, and two passes defended. On May 12, 2020, Peterson was re-signed by the Cardinals. On November 11, 2020, Peterson was placed on injured reserve with a concussion. He was activated on December 12, 2020, and finished the year with six tackles, one pass defended, and a recovered fumble in 12 games. In the 2021 season, Peterson played rarely, finishing the year with just eight tackles in four games. He was not extended after the season.

References

External links

Oklahoma State Cowboys bioArizona Cardinals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Kevin 1994 births Living people American football cornerbacks African-American players of American football Arizona Cardinals players Chicago Bears players Los Angeles Rams players Oklahoma State Cowboys football players Players of American football from Oklahoma Sportspeople from Muskogee, Oklahoma Tennessee Titans players 21st-century African-American sportspeople