A flurry of signings for the Philadelphia Eagles this week has resulted in extensions for three different players: tight ends Brent Celek and Zach Ertz, and now offensive tackle Lane Johnson.
Johnson, 25, signed a six-year deal worth $63 million, including $35.5 million in guaranteed money. His new deal makes him the highest-paid right tackle in the National Football League. This is precisely what the Eagles wanted when they selected the former college quarterback/tight end/defensive end turned offensive tackle with the fourth overall pick in 2013.
Whether Johnson has earned his new deal is a slightly different story. He’s been a good player, but not a great player. He hasn’t missed a game due to injury in three seasons and he was able to make the transition to left tackle for two games this year, with solid results. However, he also allowed six sacks and committed 12 penalties. The analytics website Pro Football Focus rated him as the 25th best offensive tackle out of 76 qualifiers.
It’s worth mentioning that Johnson has only played the position for five seasons, the final two of his college career and his first three in the NFL. He was selected near the top of the first round because of his freakish athletic ability and it’s a safe bet that he hasn’t reached his ceiling. That’s what the Eagles are betting on, after all. Howie Roseman’s speciality is all about locking up good players on team-friendly deals, if possible, before they become great players.
Lane Johnson’s extension makes for an interesting question regarding Jason Peters, the Eagles’ left tackle since he was acquired in a trade with Buffalo before 2009. Peters has been an absolute rock at the position. He’s a legitimate Hall of Fame candidate, earning eight Pro Bowl selections and two first team All-Pro selections. He successfully rebounded from a potentially career-ending Achilles tear (two tears, actually) during the 2012 offseason, and he’s missed just two games in the last three seasons.
But Peters is also 34 years old. He’s the second-oldest offensive lineman in the NFL, trailing only former teammate Evan Mathis, who was benched in midseason with the Denver Broncos. He suffered through easily his worst season with the Eagles, missing two games with back spasms and leaving the game – no joke – seven different times with recurring injuries throughout the season.
Peters’ cap hit is $9.23 million in 2016, which makes him the second-highest paid player on the Eagles, the 11th-highest paid left tackle, and the 96th-highest paid player in the league. There’s almost no way Peters will be worth his contract. The Eagles could cut him right now and save $6.23 million, a substantial number for a team strapped for cap space. It’s worth noting that another option for the Eagles is cutting him after June 1st, which would save them even more money – $8.2 million instead of $6.3 million. They could obviously use that extra time from March to June to see if they’re able to land a replacement for Peters through either the draft or in free agency. That’s not a favorable scenario for Peters, but it’s also how the business side of football works. And the final option is restructuring his contract, in which they would convert a significant portion of his 2016 salary cap into a signing bonus. That’s of course is Peters is willing to restructure, and that’s no guarantee.
The big question is whether the Eagles can adequately replace Peters’ performance in 2016. The obvious answer is no, that they can’t. Offensive tackles are incredibly expensive if they hit the free-agent market, and they’re no sure thing in the draft. Just look at some of the recent disappointments: Eric Fisher, Luke Joeckel and Greg Robinson, all top-five picks in the draft in the last three seasons.
If the Eagles do release Peters, they’ll move Johnson to left tackle. That obviously leaves a hole at right tackle, and the Eagles already have a hole at both of their guard spots. They simply cannot replace three of their five starting offensive lineman in a single offseason. They tried last season to replace just two – at the two least important spots on the offensive line – and it blew up in their face.
Releasing Peters would be very similar to Chip Kelly’s decision to release Evan Mathis last offseason. It would be a tough decision to cut an aging expensive player with literally no viable option to replace him. The Eagles could use their first-round pick on a tackle, but they don’t have a second-round pick and they still need to replace both starting guards. Yes, they can sign a player like Jeff Allen from Kansas City in free agency, but with no obvious replacement plan for Peters, it’s fairly obvious the team is better off keeping him.
If he stays on the Eagles, my expectations for Peters in 2016 will be minimal. I think he’ll be an average to slightly above average tackle, whether he plays on the left side or begrudgingly moves to right tackle. He’ll likely miss a game or two and deal with nagging injuries throughout the season. That’s what happens when you’re still playing in the NFL at age 34. But a 34-year-old Peters, even at a relatively high cap hit, is a better option than no option at all. That’s what the Eagles are facing if they part ways with Peters.
