If Eagles head coach Doug Pederson has his way, Jason Peters will be back in Philly next season. When asked if he’d welcome back the 38-year-old offensive lineman, the head coach didn’t mince words.
“Yeah,’’ Pederson told Paul Domowitch of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via the Inquirer’s Jeff McLane on Twitter). “I think I said the same thing [last year] about Darren Sproles.
“JP is a Hall of Fame left tackle in my opinion. You want those kind of guys back. They’re great for leadership with those young players.’’
While the 16-year veteran may be getting up there in age, Peters was still plenty productive last season. As Domowitch notes, Pro Football Focus rated Peters as the league’s fourth-best tackle, and he only allowed three sacks and 21 quarterback pressures. After making a modest $6MM last season, the veteran is set to hit free agency.
It would also make sense for Philly to move on from the veteran, especially since they traded up to select Washington State offensive tackle Andre Dillard in the first round. Of course, as Domowitch observes, the Eagles thought they were drafting Peters’ replacement when they selected Lane Johnson back in 2013; Johnson has since been moved to right tackle.
While general manager Howie Roseman didn’t give such a definitive answer about Peters’ role on the 2020 squad, it sounds like he’s also open to re-signing the veteran.
“When you’re talking about Jason Peters, you’re talking about a Hall of Fame player, a Hall of Fame person,’’ Roseman said. “Someone who’s very special to us and played at a really high level for us last year. We’ll go through all of these decisions this week.’’
Love the guy and his contributions, but just like sproles, he’ll be on IR before week 6.
Unfortunately the FA market offers few options. Whitworth and Beachum would cost more and not necessarily be an upgrade. That pretty much leaves only Greg Robinson as someone they could pursue as a replacement.
Week 6? He’ll come out early in 4 of the first 5 games before that.
He’s far more durable than you give him credit if you actually look at the game log
He starts every game and then pulls up lame.
Snap counts 4 of 5 past seasons, 75%, 80%, 37% and 66%, hardly what is expected out of a supposed Hall of Famer.
A supposed hall of famer? Your a joke and know nothing about the sport if you honestly think he’s not going to be. He’s 38 years old he’s not going to post every snap at the most demanding position in the game.
Jason Peters could certainly be a good swing tackle for the Eagles even if they plan to start Johnson and Dillard. The question is if Jason Peters wants to be paid full value as a full time starter and pro bowler or if he’s willing to take a low contract again to stay at home in Philadelphia.
Somewhere out there there’s a team willing to pay a premium for a year or two of high level left tackle play, even from a 38 year old. If I were Peters, I’d explore my options with teams on the cusp of a big run and terrible pass protection. The team should be pass focused and not run focused, as great run blocking is probably better done by young guys, while pass protection is more about balance and technique than sheer
The Eagles are potentially deep playoff contenders next year, the team has a lot of heart. But the Eagles seem to have offensive tackle sorted out so they won’t pay a premium.