Halapoulivaati Vaitai Might Still be in Eagles Plans

Jason Peters may find the waters of free agency he is about to plunge into on March 18 to be deep and maybe a bit chilly.

The watering hole will be filled with the likes of Jack Conklin, Bryan Bulaga, German Ifedi, Andrew Whitworth, Dennis Kelly and, maybe, just maybe Halapoulivaati Vaitai. As if that isn’t enough options for teams looking to bolster their offensive lines, the draft is loaded with so players considered the plug-and-play-variety such Mekhi Becton, Andrew Thomas, Jedrick Wills, and Tristan Wirfs.

Peters is 38, but so is Whitworth, who turns 39 in December, about six weeks before Peters will celebrate his final year as a 30-something.

If Peters doesn’t get the kind of deal he wants, or it’s an offer that is low enough, maybe the Eagles bring him back. That feels unlikely.

It isn’t out of the question that a team could offer Peters a one-year deal worth about $8 to $10 million. The Eagles won’t go that high.

This man took me in & turned me into what I am today when a lot of people would have threw in the towel. Nobody had a bigger impact on my career both as a friend & as a mentor. Cont... pic.twitter.com/fZto9yCnL0
— Lane Johnson (@LaneJohnson65) March 5, 2020

It’s more likely the Eagles could sign their old friend Kelly, who just turned 30 earlier this year and was originally selected by Philly in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft before being traded four years ago for receiver Dorial Green-Beckham.

It’s not out of the question anymore, either, that the Eagles could look to bring back Vaitai for the simple reason that losing both Peters and Vaitai would leave a dent in the team’s offensive tackle stash.

The thinking is Vaitai will command starter’s money, and probably wants to land a starter’s job.

The Eagles could be thinking something else. They could be thinking of offering Vaitai mid-level starter’s money, because, after all, Vaitai has made 23 starts since being drafted in the fifth round of 2016, including 10 regular-season games plus all three in the playoffs in the Eagles’ 2017 Super Bowl season. And the way injuries happen in Philly, Vaitai could be a starter before long, anyway.

Vaitai has made himself a vital cog on the Eagles’ line, capable of playing both tackle spots and, last year, added guard to his resume. He would certainly be a solid insurance policy should something happen to starter Lane Johnson and/or if Andre Dillard struggles in his second season. Dillard played reasonably well in three starts at left tackle and was a mess at right tackle, but there isn’t any reason to believe that he can’t handle the left side.

I am not ready to write Vaitai off as a lost cause in free agency, yet. If it happens, though, and Peters doesn’t get the offer he hopes to get in free agency, then maybe the Eagles make him an offer to return for a year at a more comfortable price tag of, say, $4-6 million. Again, probably unlikely.

That means the Eagles would be left with unproven Jordan Mailata and Matt Pryor as the primary backup tackles, and Pryor looks more comfortable at guard.

Viewed in that lens, offensive tackle becomes a priority for the Eagles at some point in the draft.

Maybe Auburn’s Prince Tega Wanogh, Connecticut’s Matt Peart or Boise State’s Ezra Cleveland are still around late in the third round and the Eagles take one of them, or somebody else. Maybe on the third day, in the fourth round, and spend one of their three projected picks in that round on somebody like Mississippi State’s Tyre Phillips, Auburn’s Jack Driscoll, or South Carolina’s Alex Taylor.

Either way, the Eagles will need to do something if neither Peters nor Vaitai return, and that is why it wouldn’t be wise to say good-bye quite yet to Vaitai.

The Eagles may still have him in their plans.

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