The latest headline out of Indianapolis for the Eagles doesn’t follow the trend originally outset by Howie Roseman. Instead, it involves a franchise-changing move the could go in either direction depending on what’s decided. On Tuesday afternoon, when asked about Jason Peters, Doug Pederson stood firm in his support to bring the future hall of fame back. He compared it to bringing Darren Sproles back but we all know how that ended.
Despite dealing with nagging injuries the past couple of season, Jason Peters has still kept himself in the ‘elite conversation’ at left tackle, a position that’s been very difficult for most teams to secure. The bodyguard missed out on the Eagles 2017 playoff run and has used that as motivation ever since.
Peters only missed 3 games last season and about 3/4 of a possible fourth game. Even with that, Peters played at an elite level for the team as he only allowed 3 sacks, 4 QB hits, and 21 QB pressures. He was even rated by PFF as the NFL’s fourth-best tackle last season. Not bad for a 38-year-old.
Unfortunately, the question here is how will this affect Andre Dillard? The Eagles traded up three spots in the draft to secure their next franchise left tackle, so obviously they weren’t expecting for Peters to return this season… right?
Dillard had a mix showing in four games that he played this season for the Eagles, Dillard played 336 snaps in 4 games while allowing 4 sacks. The 4 sacks are alarming but then again he was a rookie. His best showing came against Khalil Mack of the Bears as he didn’t allow Mack to even make an impact on the game.
Could another year of Peters hurt the growth of Dillard? If the team is focused on getting younger than they have a huge decision on their hands. Although Peters can make this easier by retiring, numbers show that he hasn’t slowed down much but the Eagles made a first-round investment on Dillard. You don’t shelve the first-round pick for two years, or is this case different due to the fact that your current Left Tackle is a future Hall of Fame?
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
