The Pittsburgh Steelers had to really piece their secondary together toward the end of the 2023 season. They started seven different safeties due to injuries and suspension and had to get creative to put a competitive unit out on the field. One of the chess pieces that allowed that to happen was Patrick Peterson. He had spent his entire 13-year career at cornerback but was asked to play safety in a pinch last season for the final four games of the regular season.
Part of this decision was to allow Peterson, the most experienced member of the secondary by far, to be in a communicator role as the team had a bunch of injury issues at inside linebacker as well.