Notes On the Peters Signing
Asked how much he dealt with Chip Kelly during the Jason Peters contract negotiations, agent Vincent Taylor responded, “Man, not at all.”
Kelly told reporters at the beginning of the offseason that he would not be delving into the contract side of things, and it appears he is staying true to his word. The lines were a little more gray under Andy Reid, who had final say over personnel decisions and by the end of his tenure was sitting in on some of the negotiations.
That’s not to say that Kelly wasn’t influential in the decision to lock up the All-Pro. He has been a big fan of the big man from the start.
“Coach is a very up-front guy,” said Howie Roseman with a smile, “so the first time he saw him move, it was an expletive-filled energy. It’s not very often that you see a 325-330 pound guy move like that and play with that kind of power. This is a unique football player.”
When the Eagles selected Lane Johnson with the No. 4 overall pick last April, Kelly called Peters and told him not to read into it.
“He said, ‘Don’t think I’m trying to replace you. Lane’s a great tackle. But he’s not you. And we’re going to play him at right.’ I took that and I ran with it,” said Peters.
He went on to garner both first-team All Pro and Pro Bowl honors. During the exit meetings, Kelly told Peters that he had his full backing and wanted him around. Kelly will get his wish.
— Peters said that talks of a new deal actually began last offseason. The Eagles wanted to see him in game action before getting serious about an extension. The conversation really started heating up over the last couple weeks.
— Per a league source, the guaranteed money runs into the third year of the new deal, with a small portion of Year 3 being guaranteed.
— Security was a major part of Peters’ motivation for doing the deal now, but his affection for the city and organization also played a role.
“He just loves the camaraderie, he loves the direction, he loves the city,” said Taylor. “He recently bought a new home [in the area]. And he felt like they took a chance on him when he was in Buffalo and was basically flying under the radar, didn’t have the pub that maybe most guys were getting, so they took a chance on him, paid him really well in the first deal, so they felt it was only right to be loyal and stick around.”
— Taylor talked to the NFL Players Association on Wednesday and was told that the $19.55 guaranteed is the highest for any offensive lineman at 32 years old or above. As such, there was no precedent for the two sides to work off of, adding a degree of difficulty to the process.
“We just had to look at, it is almost like the pink elephant: ‘What is it worth to you?’ ” said Taylor. “It may not be worth much to the next person but what is it worth to you? And they felt like hey, this is what he’s worth to us.”
— Expect Jason Kelce to get a new deal of his own in the coming weeks (days?). Roseman wouldn’t answer questions about an extension directly, but indicated that he is the type of player that they want to continue to build with.