Philadelphia Eagles debate table: Has Jason Peters damaged his legacy?

Even Philadelphia Eagles legends don’t know when to quit sometimes.

Those of you who are a little younger will probably only be able to verify this with YouTube clips and stories that you heard while listening to your parents hang out with their friends, but once upon a time, Mike Tyson and Roy Jones were two of the biggest bullies on their respective blocks. What does that have to do with the Philadelphia Eagles or Jason Peters you ask? Absolutely nothing.

Just hang in there for a second though. We can’t tell this particular story about The Bodyguard without talking about several other sports legends first. There’s a point in this. Just trust us.

You see Jones dominated his weight class by winning a record twelve consecutive unified light heavyweight title fights. He was considered the best pound-for-pound fighter for most of his career. You’ve heard Mike Tyson’s story so much that you don’t need to hear it again.

The point is both of them didn’t know when to quit. As they got older, the losses came more frequently, and now every comeback makes it easier to forget how good they used to be. You kind of see how this relates to Jason Peters now, don’t you?

Here’s how a Philadelphia Eagles fan relates all of this to Jason Peters.

All legends aren’t created equal, and Philly’s got quite a few of them. No one holds a nickel to Tommy McDonald or Chuck Bednarik. No one’s more beloved than Brian Dawkins.

Andy Reid was great. So was Reggie White, but Big Red, when it’s all said and done, will be remembered as a Kansas City Chief. The Minister of Defense is often discussed for leaving the Birds and winning his Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers.

Then, there are guys like Terrell Owens, Donovan McNabb, and yes, Jason Peters, the legends who had the love of an entire city but wore out their welcomes. The truth is this. Time heals all wounds. The longer McNabb stays away, we all begin to miss him. It’s like a bad breakup. They can be ugly, but eventually, you remember the good times.

What is Jason Peters’ legacy with the Philadelphia Eagles?

Jason Peters wore out his welcome a while ago. Much of the Eagles organization doesn’t believe that, but the fans and some of the media have had enough. He’s the close relative that doesn’t realize that the party is over. They just hang around and tell bad jokes while you try and clean up your house.

Peters, a nine-time Pro Bowler (seven of those were earned as an Eagle) is now known for holding the team to ransom on more than one occasion, being the ‘me guy’ instead of being the team guy, and well, being Mike Tyson and Roy Jones, proud fighters that didn’t know when to hang the gloves up.

Singers do it. They drop one or two albums too many, and we all ask what was going on with that last album. Boxers do it. The lights and fame make them take one more fight than they needed to. In Peters case, watching him take himself out of games when he should still be able to play, watching him get embarrassed by a younger defensive lineman with unexplainable regularity, and then watching Doug Pederson and everyone else tell us that he’s still as good as he was five years ago has become an exhausting process.

Has Jason Peters damaged his legacy? Well, yes. He absolutely has, but maybe, like McNabb and T.O., his absence will allow us to miss him, look back, and remember the good old days at some point. That’s a ways away though. Watching how he’s governed himself has eliminated the possibility that he’ll be remembered as one of the most beloved Birds of all time, for now anyway. Ask us this same question ten years from now. We can all reassess then.