Philadelphia Eagles fans won’t like Doug Pederson’s stance on Peters issue

If you know this Philadelphia Eagles team, you should expect vague answers.

Ever since the final weekend of August, Philadelphia Eagles fans have been split, as they sometimes are. First, there were reports that Jason Peters would want more money to move back to his original position of left tackle if that’s what the coaches and organization asked him to do. Then, there were reports that he refused to do so. That’s when some of the angst came in.

Regardless of what side you’re on, you can understand the discussion and some of the anger. Philly has paid this man handsomely as they should have, but they’ve also thrown him a lifeline after he sat at home for months as an available free agent and no one contacted him to play for their team. He can’t do his franchise and his teammates a solid now?

Think about it this way. What if his refusal to move to left tackle resulted in a Carson Wentz injury. Would those of you on his side rally for him then? What if Nick Foles would have refused to play quarterback in 2017 and 2018 because he felt that he was now in a starter’s role and deserved a bigger purse? Would that have flown?

What kind of precedent would this set if Philly caves to his demands and allows him to undermine the coaches? If an undrafted rookie did this, wouldn’t he be released? Oh, that’s right. The ‘Birds’ have been caving to Jason Peters for years now, so nevermind.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ head coach sheds some light on the issue.

On the first day of September, Eagles head coach Doug Pederson sat with the media. It didn’t take long for the questions to be asked, but even though most of us expect a vague response at this point, none of us were expecting what Coach had to say in reference to the Peters issue.

‘Well, first of all, I don’t understand where some of these reports are coming from’. Come again Coach? Say what?

When asked if the refusal of a player to do what he asks undermines his authority, Pederson put it this way.

"Jason Peters, for us, has done an outstanding job at right guard. He’s comfortable at right guard. We have some options at left tackle that we’re working through over there. It doesn’t undermine anything… He’s comfortable. As you guys know, it’s hard to disrupt too many positions with that offensive line, and we’ve got a few more days here before we get (into the regular season) to find out who that left tackle will be."

It kind of sounds like he’s dancing around the question, doesn’t it? When asked a more direct question, ‘if you asked Jason Peters to move over to left tackle, would he do that?’, Pederson paused, took a deep breath, and responded by saying the following:

"To me, that would be a private conversation… one between me and Jason, and I probably wouldn’t reveal (the results of) that to you guys."

Debate continues to wage in the Philadelphia Eagles fan base.

Okay, is anyone else bothered by this? The question is simple. If Doug Pederson asked Jason Peters to move over to left tackle, would he do so? He needs a private conversation to know the answer to that question?

Let’s make long stories short here. It’s obvious that, even though he’s not the player he once was, Jason Peters still has to be seen as the best option to play there when you analyze what Matt Pryor and Jordan Mailata have been able to do (or not do). Based on more of what Pederson said, it also sounds like moving Lane Johnson to left tackle isn’t an option either. This discussion, for now, seems to be a long way from being over, but here’s the long and short of everything.

This Eagles organization has bent over backward for Jason Peters and are now afraid to offend him. It’s the same thing Philadelphia 76ers fans saw with Brett Brown. There’s no accountability, at least not for ‘The Bodyguard’. We’ll have to see what happens in the coming days, but since this is a topic that’s created a bit of conversation and disagreement, allow us to make our thoughts clear here at ITI. We think what Peters is doing is selfish, childish, and disgusting.