Eagles To Allow Jason Peters To Hit Free Agent Market

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By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor

The Eagles drafted left tackle Andre Dillard in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft to be an eventual replacement to Jason Peters.

While Dillard was decent at left tackle, he showed later in the season that he could not play any other position on the line to save his life.

The Eagles appear to have made up their mind for the 2020 season and will look to Dillard to be their starting left tackle as Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network reports that the Eagles plan to allow veteran Jason Peters to hit free agency.

The #Eagles are expected to let Jason Peters hit the free agent market, sources say. After 11 years with the team, the nine-time Pro Bowl selection could be headed elsewhere, though the parties will remain in contact.

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 5, 2020

The Eagles have officially confirmed that themselves.

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— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) March 5, 2020

Peters is a nine-time Pro Bowler and two-time All Pro that has started 140 games for Philadelphia over the past 11 seasons.

Much of what Eagles fans have concerns with about Peters are his false starts and injuries, but, injury-wise, Peters has missed just three games over the past two regular seasons and has missed more than three games just one time – in 2017.

Penalty-wise, Peters has actually had just 12 false starts in 29 starts over the past two seasons. Many Philly fans may expect that number to be higher.

Pro Football Focus had Peters ranked as one of the top tackles in the league, so a team looking for a left tackle and looking to compete now might pay Peters top dollar.

This would put the Eagles in a bit of an odd scenario in regards to the comp pick formula as the team plans to pursue some top-end free agents, but might take some pause in doing so with free agents like Jason Peters, Big V and Jordan Howard seemingly set for big paydays while players like Ronald Darby, Rodney McLeod or Vinny Curry could also command some pretty decent deals.

With that, the Eagles may even come away with some compensatory picks in the 2021 draft even if they manage to sign players like Byron Jones or James Bradberry this offseason.

No statement has ruled out a return, however, just that the team will allow Peters to see what type of money he could get on the open market.

If the market is not there for Peters, the Eagles could bring him back on an inexpensive deal and have him as a back-up left tackle or compete for the starting spot at left guard, but those are two things Peters may be unwilling to do.

The move appears to be one of the first in the team’s commitment to building a younger team.