Merrill Reese: Not surprising Eagles' Jason Peters chose to play left tackle

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PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Eagles head coach Doug Pederson was in his office Monday morning when future Hall of Fame tackle Jason Peters — 6-foot-4, 328 pounds — paid him a visit. 

“Obviously he knocked, and it’s a big man walking through my door, and I was happy to see Jason Peters,” Pederson told the media Monday afternoon. 

“I was just thrilled to death when he shared the news.” 

That news is Peters deciding to play left tackle instead of right guard, which is what the Eagles brought the 38-year-old back for after Brandon Brooks injured his Achilles tendon. But then, second-year tackle Andre Dillard hurt his biceps — which made many believe Peters would simply slide over a few spots to his left.

But it wasn’t an immediate transition. There’s speculation as to why, but the bottom line is this: On Sunday, Peters will be protecting Carson Wentz’s blind side to start the season, while a younger offensive lineman — maybe Matt Pryor, or Nate Herbig or even rookie Jack Driscoll — steps in at right guard. 

NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported Peters did not restructure his contract prior to going back to left tackle.

From NFL Now on @nflnetwork: The #Eagles have praised Jason Peters' team-first mentality in recent days and he proved it today by sliding out to left tackle before any reworking of his contract. pic.twitter.com/O8x72xafWA

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) September 7, 2020

“I had not expected this,” Pederson admitted, adding the team was comfortable with Peters playing right guard.

Pederson said Peters came into his office and he was “thrilled to death” when Peters told him he would go back to LT: “It just shows a sign of great leadership by him.” Admitted he did not expect Peters to do this.#Eagles pic.twitter.com/3Nrf74hs8N

— Ed Benkin (@EdBenkin) September 7, 2020

Merrill Reese — entering his 44th year as The Voice of the Eagles — says he was not shocked. 

“On the surprise meter, it’s not very high,” Reese told KYW Newsradio Tuesday morning. 

In fact, Reese — who acknowledged the Eagles liked what they saw from Dillard before he injured himself during training camp — thought this was sort of going to happen anyway. 

“I’m going to be very, very candid with you: Even if Andre Dillard had stayed well, I’m not so certain that it might not have happened at least early in the season because Andre Dillard struggled to find his way,” Reese said. “Here you have a future Hall of Fame left tackle, and Dillard seemed to me to be struggling a little bit.”

While left tackle — a very important position, protecting Wentz’s blind side — suddenly became much more experienced, right guard dipped several notches. However, Reese said he would still prefer Peters at left tackle than right guard because that’s where he established himself. 

“I still think he’s going to be better than a lot of left tackles in the National Football League. Again, the only question mark is: Can he stay healthy? Because he has missed parts of a lot of games over the past few years, but most Sundays he goes back there and he lines up again. And as long as he’s over there, Carson Wentz can feel a measure of security.” 

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