February 14, 2018
Now that the Philadelphia Eagles' offseason is (finally) underway, let's take a look at each position and figure out which players will be back in 2018, and which ones will be playing elsewhere. Here we'll look at offensive tackle.
Previous "Stay or Go" positional analysis
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end
Gun to his head, Doug Pederson thinks Jason Peters will be his starting left tackle next season. Prior to the 2017 season, we noted that you have to go all the way back to 2001 to find a player older than Peters who started at least 10 games at left tackle in a season. That would be Lomas Brown, who started at LT for the Giants at the age of 38. And now Peters is another year older.
Every year people wonder if Peters will finally regress, and every year he plays at a Pro Bowl level. Obviously, his torn ACL/MCL is more reason to wonder about regression than usual, and his cap price is $10,666,666.
The Eagles will probably ask Peters to take a pay cut again, like they did last offseason, and the guess here is that he'll say no once again.
There's also the matter of whether or not Peters will retire or not, but all indications are that he isn't ending his career on a torn ACL.
#JimmyVerdict: We'll go with Doug's gut, and say JP stays.
Your verdict:
Lane Johnson was the best offensive tackle in the NFL last season. He was better than Tyron Smith, Trent Williams, or any other name you might throw out. Don't even reply on Twitter or in the comment section below with a wrong opinion that he wasn't.
#JimmyVerdict: Duh.
Your verdict:
Vaitai struggled at times during the regular season but was much, much better in the playoffs, especially in the NFC Championship Game against the Minnesota Vikings, when he shut down Everson Griffen. Maybe Vaitai is a long-term answer as a starter at OT (I'm unsure exactly what side that would be on); maybe he isn't. At a minimum, he proved to be high-quality backup, capable of playing either side.
#JimmyVerdict: Staying, clearly.
Your verdict:
Beatty was a mid-season fill-in at OT after Jason Peters was lost for the season, and Taylor Hart didn't work out.
#JimmyVerdict: Beatty will get a ring, but he likely won't be back.
Your verdict:
Green = Stay
Red = Go
Orange = They'll make it to camp, and will have to prove they belong on the roster.
(Note: Some mobile versions will not display colors.)
| Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| QB | Carson Wentz | Nick Foles | Nate Sudfeld | |
| RB | Jay Ajayi | LeGarrette Blount | Corey Clement | Darren Sproles |
| RB (cont) | Wendell Smallwood | Donnel Pumphrey | Kenjon Barner | |
| WR | Alshon Jeffery | Torrey Smith | Nelson Agholor | Mack Hollins |
| WR (cont) | Shelton Gibson | Marcus Johnson | ||
| TE | Zach Ertz | Brent Celek | Trey Burton | |
| OT | Jason Peters | Lane Johnson | Halapoulivaati Vaitai | Will Beatty |
| OG | ||||
| C | ||||
| DE | ||||
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| S | ||||
| K/P/LS | ||||
| Head coach | ||||
| Defensive coordinator | ||||
| GM |
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