Eagles Bringing Back Jason Peters - to Play Right Guard

Heading into his 17th NFL season, the veteran, now 38, will be challenged by learning a new position on the other side of the offensive line

More than four months after casting Jason Peters adrift into the seas of free agency, the Eagles are throwing the Pro Bowl left tackle with the Hall of Fame credentials a lifeline and bringing him back into the fold, with one big kicker.

Peters isn’t expected to return to his old position but will become the team’s right guard, taking the place of injured Brandon Brooks. The Eagles and Peters agreed to a one-year deal.

Brooks tore his Achilles during a June workout and will miss the entire 2020 season.

Peters, now 38, was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Buffalo Bills in 2004 as a tight end out of Arkansas, but he has never played guard in his going-on 17 years in the league.

The inexperienced Matt Pryor was in line to be the first player up to take over for Brooks, but the Eagles are already breaking in second-year player Andre Dillard at left tackle. Two relatively inexperienced players at once may have factored into the decision to bring back Peters.

Peters’ leadership will be valuable for a line in a bit of transition and he will also be able to provide help as a swing tackle should something go amiss with Dillard and/or right tackle Lane Johnson.

Peters has been a mainstay at left tackle for Philly since arriving in 2009 in a trade with Buffalo, starting 140 games in 11 seasons. He is a nine-time Pro Bowl selection, five of those appearances coming with the Eagles, and was a first-team All-Pro in 2011 and 2013.

In 2019, he started 14 games, including the playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks. He played 76 percent of the offensive snaps.

Perhaps Peters’ greatest challenge still lies ahead, however, and that is learning how not only to play guard but to do so on the right side of the offensive line, which will require a different stance than the one he perfected on the left side for the previous 16 seasons.

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