ANDRE Dillard is the Eagles future at LT, and the future should start this season. Still, it would be a smart move to bring back Jason Peters as a starter as well. (Note: I started this article the day before Head Coach Doug Pederson said that he’d like to have Peters back. I nearly didn’t release this, but since Doug and I have different reasons for bringing him back, I decided to voice my side.)
I’ve been saying for years now that if Peters were to move to LG, it could add Pro Bowl caliber years to his career. I’ve said that for years, and even with him being 38, if he kicks inside, his rare issues with edge speed, completely disappear. Those instances where LG Isaac Seumalo finds himself forklifted into the QB’s passing lane, would also disappear.
Moving Peters inside means we get a powerful, mountain of a man, still quick, and still able to play in space. It means a Hall of Fame caliber mentor, playing beside Dillard. It means we get a Hall of Fame caliber back-up at LT, if we need it. Imagine: A HOF caliber, back-up.
Money? Peters played for 9 million dollars last year. Some people would say that he should be paid less if he plays G, but why dick him around? Is haggling over a 3 or 4 million dollar difference, really worth risking having to see him in a Redskins jersey? Certainly not. Just “overpay” him at G, which is easy for both the team and he to agree to.
This needn’t be an exercise. Three years, 18M, 9 guaranteed, with a signing bonus of 9M. That’s a 27M cap hit, spread over three years. Build the contract with the third year being a false floor, with a $0 salary, and of course amortize the whole shebang. That breaks down as:
2020: 9M base/3M bonus (Only year with a guaranteed base salary)
2021: 9M base/3M bonus
2022: $0 base/3M bonus
This means that if we don’t bring him back in 2021, or he retires, the team is just on the (dead money) hook for the 6M in bonus money. Everybody walks away happy.
If the move adds two years to his career, then he’s ours at a rate so affordable, it’s practically stealing. If he and the team decides to do a third year, then “restructure” his deal by moving the remaining 3M of his signing bonus to his base, and give him a final restructure bonus of 12M.
At that point the new CBA will be in place, and that 12M will be like a final high-five to an All-Time Great. But what do I know? I’m not a GM. LOL
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