Flashback Friday: Philadelphia Eagles trade for Jason Peters
Ten years ago, the Philadelphia Eagles made one of the most important trades of the decade by acquiring left tackle, Jason Peters.
Two days ago marked the ten-year anniversary of a move that would change the Philadelphia Eagles forever. With Howie Roseman in the front office today, the Eagles make trades for players like it’s nothing. It wasn’t always like that in the NFL though, especially for the Eagles. Making a trade was rare, and we would be lucky to see one or two throughout the year, unlike how it is today. Fortunately, the Eagles pulled the trigger on one in 2009, which turned out to be one of the most critical moves of the 2000’s era for Philly.
Back in 2004, a defensive lineman-turned-tight end out of Arkansas entered the NFL Draft, but wouldn’t get a call from anybody to get drafted, despite being projected as a mid-round pick. The Queen City, Texas native, wouldn’t give up on his NFL dreams though and he inked a deal with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent. Knowing that UDFA’s typically don’t make the final roster, this kid knew that he had to put the work in to make his NFL dreams happen.
The Buffalo Bills didn’t know they had Jason Peters before he was the real Jason Peters that Eagles fans all know and love. As he bounced around from several positions, Peters would eventually find his calling at offensive tackle.
Although Peters was a stellar blocker for the Bills, some contract issues had Buffalo growing fed up with the former undrafted free agent. So instead of satisfying the lineman by giving him the contract he desires, they sent him packing to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for their first and fourth-round pick in 2009, in addition to a future conditional sixth-round pick as well.
The Eagles get a future legend…
Peters would join the Eagles in 2009, under former head coach, Andy Reid. He dominated at left tackle for the Birds as he made the Pro Bowl for the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Unfortunately, Peters went down with a season-ending injury in 2012. His diagnosis was a ruptured Achilles, which is typically a career-ender for veteran players – especially big men.
Although an Achilles injury could be a career killer, it wouldn’t take Peters down. He stayed on track and earned himself yet, another large payout from the Eagles a couple of years later. After the Andy Reid era, Peters struggled to remain happy in Philly since Chip Kelly’s rise and fall. But fortunatley during Chip’s three-year span as the coach, Peters stayed on board.
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Fast forward to 2019, and Jason Peters is getting prepared to play what is likely to be his final season with the Eagles. As the team re-structured his deal last month, Peters will play out the 2019 season without a future locked in.
Seeing as though he suffered a season-ending injury in 2017, and multiple significant injuries in 2018, the Eagles aren’t sure how much longer his body can hold up. Even if Peters’ days are numbered at this point, it’s already clear that the Eagles can consider their trade for ‘The Bodyguard’ back in 2009 a successful one. In fact, it’s argubly the greatest trade in the franchise’s existence, and it went down ten years ago.