Eagles legend Jason Peters signs to Cowboys practice squad

After a few days of chatter and speculation, the man many thought would be the next Philadelphia Eagles inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame has officially joined the enemy. He just won’t be doing so as an active roster member, at least not yet.

Jason Peters is a member of the Dallas Cowboys but as a member of their practice squad. Raise your hand if you thought you’d ever utter those words. Geesh. We love the guy and all, but he truly is a mercenary.

The news was first reported by Cowboys/ESPN Insider Todd Archer. He also states via his Twitter account that this allows the veteran the opportunity to “ease into work after not going to a training camp”.

Peters, who will turn 41 years young on January 22nd enters his 14th season in the NFL, but unlike Tom Brady, the man formerly known as The Bodyguard looks every bit his age as of late.

The legend of an Eagles legend continues, but come on. It’s time to hang the cleats up forever, isn’t it?

Peters joined the Eagles by way of a trade with the Buffalo Bills on April 17th of 2009. Buffalo received Philly’s first-round pick that year, the 28th-overall, and their fourth-round selection (the 121st). Those picks were used by the Bills to land center Eric Wood and tight end Shawn Nelson. They also received a conditional sixth-rounder in 2010. They used that draft choice to land linebacker Danny Batten.

Things worked out pretty well for the Birds. Peters was named to seven Pro Bowl squads in an Eagles jersey (2009-2011 and 2013-2016). He also earned a Second-Team All-Pro nod twice during his time in the City of Brotherly Love (2010, 2014) and a spot on the First Team twice (2011, 2013).

He now seems to be living off of a reputation more than anything however as he clearly isn’t the player that he once was. Signs of deterioration began in 2018 and 2019 though the Birds, as they often do these days, held onto him longer than they should have. His final run with the team, the 2020-2021 campaign, was tough to watch.

He spent the 2021-2022 NFL season as a member of the Chicago Bears. They moved on after a single season. The expectation here is the Cowboys, by placing him on the practice squad, will avoid having to pay him his full salary if they go the route of releasing him at some point during the season (which they would have been forced to do if he was the Week 1 starter.

At some point, Jason Peters will hang the cleats up, but there’s no need to do so if teams are going to keep handing him a check. Who would have thought? At this rate, Jason Kelce might end up in the Hall of Fame first.

As far as Week 1 goes, rookie left tackle Tyler Smith will be the Cowboys’ starter in place of the injured Tyron Smith. We’ll have to wait and see what their game plan is after that.