Back in April of 2009, then Eagles head coach Andy Reid took notice of a disgruntled Jason Peters that wanted to leave the Buffalo Bills and receive a big new contract from whatever team interested in giving it to him. Reid made sure that team was the Eagles, as the team sent Buffalo a first-round pick and a fourth-round pick in order to get Peters in midnight green. Looking back on it now, it will go down as one of the best trades in the franchise's nearly 80+ year history.
Last week Peters decided to continue his NFL career outside of Philadelphia, as he signed with the Chicago Bears. His body has been trying to tell him for years to call it a career, but the 39-year-old still has the passion to play.
Even though he wasn't himself these past few seasons and looked more like a human than a machine, there was a decade where Peters was constantly argued as the top left tackle in all of football. That's why we are taking a look back at the five of the best memories from Peters' career as an Eagle that will ensure he will always be remembered in Philadelphia as one of the greatest to ever put on the winged helmet.
Peters Attacking Chris Baker for Throwing an Unnecessary Hit on Nick Foles
There's a reason why Jason Peters' nickname is "The Bodyguard." The 330lb Peters saw Chris Baker lay an unnescessary hit on his quarterback and charged directly at Baker to let him know that trash wouldn't be tolerated. A nice face shove to Baker showed the rest of the league that they should probably never touch an Eagles quarterback after a play again.
Peters Intimidating Jake Elliott After Missing (Yet Another) Kick
Rookie Jake Elliott had a rough start to his Eagles tenure in 2017. Elliott was acquired after Caleb Sturgis suffered a concussion in Week 1 against the Washington Redskins. Elliott gave a bad first impression in Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs when he missed a chip shot field goal. Things got worse for Elliott when he missed another field goal the following week against the Giants. It led to Jason Peters having to appraoch Elliott after the miss and telling him not to miss another kick. I'm sure that conversation scared the daylights out of Elliott, because he went on to hit a franchise-record 61-yard fieldn goal as time expired to win the game.
Elliott went on to miss only eight of the 82 kicks he attempted the rest of the season, including three clutch field goals in the Super Bowl.
Peters Catching Ryan Mathews in Mid-Air for a Touchdown
Jason Peters is so strong, that he was able to catch a 220lb grown man in the air and it looked like he was catching a football. The man barely even flinched. It's a shame they didn't end up giving Peters any credit in the box score for this play.
Coming Back at an Elite Level After a Double Rupture of His Achilles
Peters had some bad luck back in the spring of 2012. He reptured his achilles while working out in March. Then, to make matters worse, Peters re-reptured the same achilles after the equipment he was using to move around his house malfunctioned. Some players can barely come back from a single achilles injury, so a double injury within three months to a critical tendon like that probably should have ended Peters career, or at the very least affect his play and knock it down a few notches. Yet he was able to return in 2013 and barely missed a beat. At the end of the season he was selected as a Pro Bowler and first-team All-Pro. He then went on to be selected to the Pro Bowl each season through 2016. The injury proved he was human, but from that point Peters showed just how talented he truly was.
His Super Bowl Celebrations
One of the biggest crimes in football history was Jason Peters being robbed of playing in the Super Bowl. A torn ACL prevented Peters from continuing and finishing the magical 2017 season on the field, but he was a big presence off of the field.
Peters crying on the field and thanking Doug Pederson after the win had Eagles fans crying along with him.
When Peters finally got the Lombard Trophy in his hands, he wouldn't let it go, even sleeping with it on the flight back to Philadelphia.
Peters (and other teammates) also paid home to former Eagles legends who never got to win a Super Bowl, making sure their presence was felt at the parade on Broad Street. He chose to wear a Brian Dawkins jersey.
Last but not least, Peters pimped his car out after winning the Super Bowl, adding some sick new decales to it.
Peters shouldn't have many regrets as his tenure in Philadelphia is over. He will forever be known as the best left tackle in Eagles history. We will be hearing about Peters again soon though, because in about five-to-ten years, Canton, Ohio will be calling him to inform him about his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame...
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