December 11, 2020
Jason Peters' 2020 season over. Doug Pederson said in his Friday press conference that the long-time mainstay at LT in Philadelphia would have season-ending surgery on his toe.
"He has elected to have surgery on his foot, on his toe," Pederson said. "I'm going to tell you something: It's an injury that we've known about and he's literally battled through it. He's done everything he can for this football team. I appreciate him a lot. He means a lot to me personally, not only on the field, but off the field as well, and so he's going to be missed.
"He wanted to be out there with his teammates for the remainder of the season. It's just to the point now where the injury is a little bit too bad for him to continue, so he'll have surgery and miss the rest of the season."
Peters started eight games for the Eagles in 2020 — six at his familiar spot at LT, and two at RG. His re-signing this offseason made some sense, in that he was coming aboard to fill in at RG for the injured Brandon Brooks, while also perhaps serving as something of an insurance policy at LT in the event Andre Dillard struggled at LT.
But that role didn't quite go so smoothly. When Dillard tore his biceps late in training camp, Peters held the team hostage by demanding more money before he would move from RG to LT. The team eventually conceded, and Peters was the Week 1 starter at LT.
Peters struggled at LT during the first three games, particularly against the Cincinnati Bengals, a game he did not finish. He then missed four games due to injury, with Jordan Mailata taking his place. When Peters was ready to play again, the team reinstated him back at LT and Mailata was back on the bench, despite the belief from many observers that Mailata had played better. Peters started the next three games, and when he was mostly ineffective, the team inserted Mailata back in as the starting LT, with Peters moving back to RG.
To be determined if this injury will mark the end of Peters' NFL playing career. When Peters' stellar NFL career is over, he is going to have a clear Hall of Fame résumé. We'll properly detail his time in Philly then. But in 2020, the team probably would have been better off without him.
Pederson said that Nate Herbig would start at RG in place of Peters, which means that the Eagles will likely have their 12th different offensive line combination in 13 games this season.
Version | LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
1.0 - Week 1 | Jason Peters | Isaac Seumalo | Jason Kelce | Nate Herbig | Jack Driscoll |
2.0 - Week 2 | Jason Peters | Isaac Seumalo | Jason Kelce | Nate Herbig | Lane Johnson |
3.0 - Week 3 | Jason Peters | Nate Herbig | Jason Kelce | Matt Pryor | Lane Johnson |
4.0 - Weeks 4 and 5 | Jordan Mailata | Nate Herbig | Jason Kelce | Matt Pryor | Lane Johnson |
5.0 - Week 6 | Jordan Mailata | Nate Herbig | Jason Kelce | Jamon Brown | Jack Driscoll |
6.0 - Week 7 | Jordan Mailata | Sua Opeta | Jason Kelce | Nate Herbig | Lane Johnson |
7.0 - Week 8 | Jason Peters | Nate Herbig | Jason Kelce | Matt Pryor | Jordan Mailata |
8.0 - Week 10 | Jason Peters | Sua Opeta | Jason Kelce | Matt Pryor | Lane Johnson |
9.0 - Week 11 | Jason Peters | Isaac Seumalo | Jason Kelce | Matt Pryor | Lane Johnson |
10.0 - Week 12 | Jordan Mailata | Isaac Seumalo | Jason Kelce | Jason Peters | Matt Pryor |
11.0 - Week 13 | Jordan Mailata | Isaac Seumalo | Jason Kelce | Jason Peters | Jack Driscoll |
12.0 - Week 14 | Jordan Mailata | Isaac Seumalo | Jason Kelce | Nate Herbig | Jack Driscoll |
Peters will land on injured reserve, which means the Eagles will have some options on how to fill his roster spot.
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