NEWSLETTER
There are times I feel like I’m beating a dead horse when addressing the Chicago Bears’ offensive line concerns. So I imagine Bears staffers and front office members felt the same way about dealing with said concerns. With that in mind, and having just seen flashes of what Justin Fields can do, I don’t think timing was a coincidence when it came to Jason Peters’ impending signing.
And now, it’s officially official:
We have signed OL Jason Peters to a one-year contract. 🐻⬇️https://t.co/qmoE3cUOUD
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 16, 2021
It is a one-year contract for the 39-year old Peters, who joins Chicago after 12 years in Philadelphia. But Peters won’t arrive to Halas Hall with no familiarity. The 6-foor-5, 428-pound tackle crossed paths with OL Coach Juan Castillo, OC Bill Lazor, QBs Coach John DeFilippo, and Head Coach Matt Nagy during his time with the Eagles. Seeing faces you know is always helpful when coming to a new scene.
This will mark the 18th year of Peters’ career. He hasn’t played in a full 16-game regular season since 2018, and is four full seasons removed from his last Pro Bowl campaign in 2016. That’s kind of yikes when you think about the importance of the lot tackle position. And yet, Peters still presents a notable upgrade from what the Bears currently have. Well, at least in terms of experience and accolades. Earning nine Pro Bowl trips, two first-team All-Pro nominations, and a spot on the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All-Decade Team for the 2010s is impressive stuff.
We’ll have a further breakdown of Peters and what he brings to the table later. In the meantime, it’s nice to think about the possibility of Peters serving as a bridge to Teven Jenkins. We’ve got some time before we get to that bridge, let alone cross it. But adding Peters says something about how the Bears are perceiving Jenkins’ short-term future, even if they won’t say it out loud.
