Jason Peters

A fairly athletic tight end at more than 320 pounds, Peters was seen as "a clone of former Denver Broncos giant Orson Mobley."[1] Since he registered far more knockdown blocks (61) than catches (21) in his last year in college, Peters spent much time prior to the 2004 NFL Draft working O-line drills, preparing himself to be an offensive tackle for the NFL. He was projected as an early fourth round pick by Sports Illustrated,[2] but eventually went undrafted.

Peters was picked up by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted rookie free agent in April 2004. He was cut then re-signed to the Bills' practice squad. He was signed to the active roster on November 12, 2004.[5] Peters made his mark on special teams as a wedge buster on kickoffs and as a blocking tight end, while beginning to learn to play offensive tackle under the tutelage of offensive line coach Jim McNally.

In 2006, Peters beat out former Texas star Mike Williams for starting right tackle on the Bills. Peters was rewarded for his play, signing a 5-year, $15 million contract extension with the Bills in the offseason. In 2007, Peters began the season entrenched as the starting right tackle. After Week 7, the Bills reshuffled their offensive line to better protect quarterback J. P. Losman. Peters was moved to left tackle, replacing Mike Gandy who moved inside to left guard.

After the 2006 season, Sports Illustrated's Paul Zimmerman debated selecting Peters to his All-Pro team. "I was rooting for the Bills' Jason Peters, whom I would have loved to pick, but he isn't there yet. Very athletic, but not enough of a roughneck." [6] Peters allowed only two sacks in that season and was not called for a holding penalty.[7]

In 2007, Peters saw his best years as a pro, and was selected to start at left tackle on the AFC Pro-Bowl team. As offensive line coach Jim McNally put it, "His ability is limitless." He injured his groin in a game against the New York Giants, and was unable to attend the Pro Bowl game. He was the first Bills offensive lineman to make the Pro Bowl since Ruben Brown in 2003. Joe Thomas was selected to replace him in the Pro Bowl.[5]

At the beginning of the 2008 offseason Peters was unhappy with his contract and did not report to any of the Bills offseason workouts including the teams' mandatory minicamps. Head Coach Dick Jauron said that he would be fined and would even be taken out of the lineup if he did not show. Peters reportedly wanted a contract between $8 million and $11.5 million per season in a contract extension.[8] On July 25, 2008, the NFL Network's Adam Schefter reported Peters would not report to the Bills' training camp at Saint John Fisher College in Pittsford, N.Y. Schefter also said Peters was willing to sit out the entire season to get a new and improved contract.[9] On August 20, 2008, training camp for the Bills came to an end with Peters being absent for the whole camp and all of the preseason games. On September 5, 2008, Peters ended his holdout and returned to the Buffalo Bills. Peters was fined over $560,000 for missing all of training camp, but if he had missed a regular season game, he would have been fined $191,000 for each game he missed.

Peters was selected as the starting left tackle in the Pro Bowl and was a Second-team All-Pro although his 2008 season was subpar and some thought the Pro Bowl selection was dubious.[10] In 2006, he allowed only two sacks and allowed six sacks in 2007.[11]

Peters had been unhappy with his contract and had not been attending the Bills’ offseason activities after staging a holdout in 2008 during training camp. On April 17, 2009, the Buffalo Bills traded Peters to the Philadelphia Eagles and received their first round pick (28th overall, used to select center Eric Wood) and fourth round pick (121st overall, used to select tight end Shawn Nelson) in the 2009 NFL Draft and a conditional sixth round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft (used to select linebacker Danny Batten).

On April 17, 2009, the Philadelphia Eagles announced they had signed Peters to a six-year, $60 million contract for him to remain in Philadelphia through 2014. The Eagles opted to void Peters' previous contract he signed with the Bills that had two years remaining.[12] Head coach Andy Reid added, "Jason Peters is the best left tackle in football. He is a powerful and athletic tackle and I have admired his play over the last few years on film."[12]

Peters was selected to the 2010 Pro Bowl and 2011 Pro Bowl as a starter and was a 2010 second-team All-Pro selection.

Peters in 2016

On March 28, 2012, Peters ruptured his Achilles tendon during an offseason workout. He ruptured it a second time in May 2012 after the equipment he was using to move around his house malfunctioned.[13] He was placed on the active/non-football injury list on July 22, 2012, before the start of training camp.

On February 26, 2014, Peters signed a new five-year deal worth $51.3 million with the Eagles.[14]

During a game against the Washington Redskins on September 21, 2014, Redskins player Chris Baker took out Eagles Quarterback Nick Foles with an illegal hit.[15] Following the hit, a brawl broke out on the sidelines between both teams. Baker was confronted by Peters, who then took a swing at Baker which resulted in both players getting ejected in the scuffle.[16] On September 27, 2014, Peters was fined $10,000.

On June 14, 2017, Peters signed a one-year contract extension with the Eagles through the 2019 season.[17] On October 23, 2017, during Monday Night Football against the Redskins, Peters left the game with an apparent right knee injury. The next night, it was revealed that his right knee had tears to the ACL and MCL, which ended his 2017 season.[18][19] The Eagles went on to win Super Bowl LII against the New England Patriots 41–33, giving Peters his first Super Bowl ring.[20]

On March 11, 2019, the Eagles signed Peters on a one-year contract for the 2019 season.[21] On July 17, 2020, Peters signed another one-year contract with the Eagles. He was set to start at right guard following a season-ending injury to Brandon Brooks,[22] but was moved back to left tackle following a season-ending injury to Andre Dillard.[23] He was given a restructured contract after his move to left tackle on September 10, 2020.[24] He was placed on injured reserve on October 3, 2020 with a foot injury.[25] He was activated on October 31, 2020.[26] He was placed back on injured reserve on December 12, 2020, ending his season.[27]

On August 16, 2021, Peters signed with the Chicago Bears, after the team was decimated with injuries at the left tackle position.[28] He reunited with head coach Matt Nagy and offensive line coach Juan Castillo, both of whom were Eagles assistants in Peters' first years with the Eagles.

In Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams, he suffered a quadriceps injury in the second quarter and was replaced with rookie Larry Borom and Elijah Wilkinson. In Week 14 against the Green Bay Packers, he suffered a high ankle sprain in the first quarter and was replaced with rookie Teven Jenkins. Jenkins also started the next 2 games, before Peters returned to the starting lineup. He started in 15 out of 17 games for the team. He wasn't re-signed after the season.

On September 5, 2022, Peters signed with the Dallas Cowboys practice squad to provide depth while Tyron Smith recovered from his torn hamstring injury and to improve his conditioning form.[29] He was promoted to the active roster on September 26.[30] He also served as a mentor to rookie offensive tackle Tyler Smith.[31] In Week 3 against the New York Giants, he played 14 snaps at left guard, becoming just the sixth offensive lineman (Andrew Whitworth, Ray Brown, Bruce Matthews, Jackie Slater and Jeff Van Note) to play an NFL game in his 40s.

In Week 14 against the Houston Texans, Josh Ball replaced an injured Terence Steele (tore both the ACL and MCL in his left knee), but he struggled so much, that Peters was forced to play at right tackle for the first time since 2006, on the eventual game-winning drive. In Week 17 against the Tennessee Titans, a high ankle sprain injury to center Tyler Biadasz led to a three-player shuffle on the offensive line, which included Peters playing at left tackle. In Week 18 against the Washington Commanders, he started at left tackle. He played sparingly during the season (10 games with one start), suffering multiple injuries, including one on his hip, that kept him out of the divisional playoff round loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He wasn't re-signed after the season.

With Tom Brady's retirement from the NFL on February 1, Peters became the oldest active NFL player at 41 years old.

On September 11, 2023, the Seattle Seahawks hosted Peters for a workout.[32] One day later on September 12, he signed with the team’s practice squad after injuries forced both of Seattle's starting tackles, second-year players Abraham Lucas and Charles Cross, out of their Week 1 match against the Los Angeles Rams.[33][34]