Heard in the Cheap Seats

There has been some chatter over the last couple of days that Buffalo Bills left tackle Jason Peters could be available via a trade if the Bills cannot work out a contract.  Of course, because the Eagles currently do not have a LT on the roster (not counting Todd Heramanns or possibly Shawn Andrews) they have been rumored as one of the teams that could get involved in the bidding. 

Granted, much of this is speculation at the moment, but it bears some closer consideration as to whether or not Peters would actually be an upgrade over the Birds current options. 

Jason Peters is an undeniable talent.  At 6’4”, 340 pounds, he certainly does not lack the size to play the position.  In 2007, Peters dominated opposing defensive ends and catapulted himself to elite status at the position.  In his eyes, this earned him the right to be paid as one of the top left tackled in the game.  But the Bills would not oblige.  After a lengthy holdout, Peters returned to action but never quite displayed the same level of dominance as he had in 2007.  In fact, Peters was so shoddy in 2008 that he led the league in sacks allowed with 11.5.  That is a startling number that would make even Winston Justice cringe.  Despite those meager stats, Peters still earned a Pro Bowl invite largely on reputation only.

Of course, you do have to take that 11.5 number with a grain of salt.  For starters, sacks allowed is a rather arbitrary measure of an OLs production.  The guy in the booth responsible for stat keeping has the sole discretion on where to place blame.  Not to start conspiracy theories, but wouldn’t the Bills stand to benefit from deflating Peters’ stats to gain an edge at the negotiating table?  And even if that is not the case, the stat also hinges greatly on the play of the quarterback.  A quarterback like Peyton Manning that gets rid of the ball quickly can make any offensive lineman look good.  But when you are hesitant to make decisions like Trent Edwards, he often leave your linemen out to dry.  But no matter how you spin the story, it is fairly obvious to even the most casual observer that Jason Peters was not at his best in 2008. 

If you are the Eagles, would you be so eager to fork over the number of picks and pile of cash it would take to bring Peters to Philadelphia?  It depends.  If you believe that you are getting the 2007 version of the massive lineman, it just may be worth the steep price.  Acquiring a productive Peters would create one of the biggest and most feared offensive lines in the game.  With a line like that, Andy Reid just may stick to the running game.

On the flip side, if you get anything back remotely resembling the 2008 version of Peters it would not be worth the king’s ransom required to get a deal done.  The Eagles have two viable internal options to move to left tackle in Shawn Andrews and Todd Herremans.  Let us not forget that both Andrews and Herremans played tackle in college and have apparently been itching to play it in the NFL.  Surely both of these options could match the play of Jason Peters cica 2008.  In addition, the Eagles would have to strongly way the apparent “attidue factor.”  This team has a long history of run-ins with players that wanted to rework deals before it expired.  In most cases, those clashes do not end well for the player.  Who is to say the three years down the road, Peters isn’t going to look around and call for another deal? 

The chatter has largely been that Jason Peters would be a huge upgrade for the Birds and a move they need to make if the price is right.  I’m not so sure.  There are just too many risks in the equation that outweigh the potential return.  If I were Andy Reid and his cohorts, I would take my chances with the guys already sitting in the locker room.