Jason Peters is no longer the most dominant left tackle in football. At 34 years old, those days are gone.
He’s still pretty good though.
In the twilight of his career, many expected to see a steep decline in his play in 2016. That hasn’t happened. Instead, Peters has had somewhat of a resurgent year.
How much does he have left?
“I don’t know,” Peters said after Sunday’s 25-14 win over the Falcons. “I’m just chasing the dream that everyone is: to play this game and get to a Super Bowl. I’ve told coach that I’m year to year, but I’m not leaving until I try to get that ring.”
Peters has made the last three Pro Bowls and eight of the last nine, missing the 2012 season with his Achilles injury.
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Coming into 2016, the plan most assumed was this: Squeeze out one more year of Peters before moving on and sliding Lane Johnson to left tackle. Peters’ cap hit is $9.7 million this season before ballooning to $11.2 million in 2017. And Halapoulivaati Vaitai has played OK at right tackle in recent weeks during Johnson’s suspension.
That might still be the plan, but Peters is at least making the decision tougher.
“It’s technique,” Peters said. “I put emphasis on my technique and I work at it throughout the week. I work at my craft and obviously it has been paying off for me on Sundays. I’ve just been working my craft, doing my job, and trying to keep them off (Carson) Wentz because I know if I keep them off of him, Wentz is going to do a good job.”
After playing all 79 snaps on Sunday, he has missed just 17 through nine games this season. Peters, perhaps more than anyone, has benefitted from Doug Pederson’s more traditional style and practice schedule. Peters has played 97 percent of the Eagles' snaps this season after playing 77 percent last year, his third with Chip Kelly.
The Eagles even make sure to take special care of their aging left tackle.
“I feel really good this year,” Peters said. “Coach is taking care of me during practice. When I’m in, I practice hard all through the week, but I might miss two or three plays during the week in order to keep me fresh for Sunday. I feel better than I’ve felt in a while.”
While Peters doesn’t take all the reps during the practice week, offensive coordinator Frank Reich said on Thursday that Peters practices extremely hard on the plays he does get.
“From a coaching standpoint, you look at the athleticism that he still has in his body,” Reich said. “I mean, it's really astounding to me. He's got a lot of athleticism left in that body. I don't know how many plays he has left. But I really don't see any signs, and I wasn't here when he was in his prime, but he might be the best offensive lineman I've ever coached. The guy is awesome.”
