The Philadelphia Eagles suffered a big blow this week when second-year LT Andre Dillard tore his biceps, putting him out for the year. Now, Philadelphia has to find a replacement for Dillard.
Fortunately for the Eagles, there are options. Longtime LT Jason Peters, who re-signed with the team and was expected to play guard after Brandon Brooks ruptured his Achilles, is a guy who would be the logical replacement. At this point, Peters is still working at the guard spot. However, Pederson has other options, which he discussed on Saturday.
“In regard to left tackle, Jason Peters is obviously in the conversation,” Pederson said. “We do have some young players, [T] Jordan Mailata, [G/T] Matt Pryor, [T] Jack Driscoll, who’s a rookie obviously but playing some tackle for us. But we’ve got a couple of guys now including Jason Peters that we want to look at over at the left side. J.P. has done an outstanding job, coming in, playing the right guard spot. We’re going to continue to look at him there, as well, but we have some options. We’ve got a couple of days here before, one, roster cuts, but obviously getting into the regular season.”
On Saturday, Pryor worked at the left tackle spot. Mailata, who played rugby in Australia, and has a minimal football background, is a possibility for Philadelphia, but the lack of experience might work against him. However, Pederson believes Mailata could learn by playing.
“I mean, listen, I didn’t have a whole lot of experience, either, becoming a head coach for the first time,” Pederson said. “You get it by doing it. We’ve had situations here; I go back to Big V [former Eagle and current Lions T Halapoulivaati Vaitai]. Big V, his first game was at Washington as a young player, and sometimes you learn, and you gain valuable experience that way…
“It’s our job to coach them up and get them prepared to help them, not only in practice but in-game situations, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Moving the 38-year-old Peters to tackle is probably the best solution for the Eagles, especially with the team being two weeks away from the season-opener. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane, Peters, who signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Eagles, wants to be paid like a starting left tackle if he’s to assume the role for the 2020 season, which could make things interesting.
We’ll see what direction Philadelphia will go in at the tackle spot, but don’t be surprised if Peters is there at some point in 2020.
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