Philadelphia Eagles: How has Jason Peters fared with the Chicago Bears?

When the Philadelphia Eagles called upon Jason Peters in 2020, it was out of a place of desperation.

Their left tackle and right guard of choice, Andre Dillard and Brandon Brooks, were out with a pair of season-ending injuries, and the team’s reserve options, Jordan Mailata, Nate Herbig, and Jack Driscoll, were far from proven commodities.

Enter, or should I say, re-enter Peters, the team’s future Hall of Fame left tackle, who many assumed would hang up his cleats entirely following a lack of interest on the free agent market. At 38, the collegiate tight end attempted to switch over to right guard, moved back to his native left tackle for a few games in place of Mailata, and ultimately spent half of the season on IR, including the final four games of regulation.

The results? Pretty meh.

Peters finished out the year with eight sacks allowed, which is both the most of his career and the third-highest mark among any tackle in the NFL, and just generally looked washed. While no one will fault the Pro Bowler for his efforts, as kicking inside to right guard surely affected his game, it looked like the next time Peters took the field, it would be to retire with the Philadelphia Eagles at some game this season.

Except that isn’t what happened. Instead, Peters signed a contract with the Chicago Bears and has been with the team all season.

And the best part? The almost 40-year-old is actually playing some pretty good football.

The long-time Philadelphia Eagles tackle is going out on his own terms.

When the Chicago Bears called upon Jason Peters in 2021, it was out of a place of desperation.

Tell me if you’ve heard this one before; their left tackle choice, 2021 second-round pick Teven Jenkins, was headed to IR once the season opened up thanks to a summer back surgery and the team’s reserve options, Elijah Wilkinson and Alex Bars, were far from proven commodities.

Enter

, or should I say, re-enter

Peters, the Philadelphia Eagles’ future Hall of Fame left tackle, who many assumed would hang up his cleats entirely following a lack of interest on the free agent market. At 39, the collegiate tight end attempted to learn a new scheme – though one from the Andy Reid coaching tree – and was thrust into action as a Week 1 starter.

The results? Pretty good actually.

From Weeks 1 through 14, Peters played 89.62 percent of the Bears’ offensive snaps, including 100 percent of them in 10 of 13 games, and only allowed three penalties and five sacks, which isn’t ideal but could be a whole lot worse when you consider the Bears have allowed the most sacks in the league at a brutal 49.

Had Peters not left the field in Week 14 with an ankle injury 13 snaps into the contest, maybe he’d still be starting at left tackle to this day, or should I say on Sunday, when the Bears face off against the New York Giants, but alas, it just wasn’t meant to be. Jenkins was activated off of IR in early December.

And since then? Well, nothing. Peters was a full participant for the Bears at practice on Friday, but it would appear the team, who sit at a very disappointing 5-10 have turned their sights to Jenkins, who they wanted to go with all along. As tough as it may be to admit, Peters filled his role, filled it to the best of his abilities, and gets to go out with 13 more games on his resume, even if I would imagine he’d like to be out there on Week 18 for one final game.

Jason Peters will be 40 on January 22nd. Could he secure another starting role in 2022 if some team finds themselves in dire straights? Sure, for all I know, Peters will be back with the Philadelphia Eagles next season, serving as a swing reserve man behind many of his teammates from 2019. But for me? I like to imagine 71 during his prime in midnight green, where he was one of the most dominant performers in the NFL regardless of position.