Jason Peters’ season — and possibly his career — is over

Jason Peters may have already played his last snap in the NFL.

Or at least his last with the Philadelphia Eagles?

Doug Pederson confirmed the soon-to-be 39-year-old offensive lineman will miss the rest of the 2020 season. He added that Peters is electing to have surgery on the toe injury that he’s been playing through.

Most Eagles fans won’t be sad to see Peters leaving the starting lineup. He’s struggled recently with 15 total pressures — including five sacks — allowed in his last three starts.

Still, this is a disappointing way for a future Pro Football Hall of Famer and all-time Eagles legend to (potentially) go out. Peters will be a free agent after this season and he might just call it a career, although he previously expressed interest in playing into his 40s.

It’s been a strange year for Peters’ legacy. “Strange” being a generous descriptor there.

It looked like the Eagles were finally going to move on from Peters when they allowed him to test free agency. But Peters remained unsigned until the Eagles brought him back to play right guard in the wake of Brandon Brooks’ injury. (For the record, though, there was talk of him inevitably returning prior to Brooks getting hurt.)

After projected starting left tackle Andre Dillard suffered a season-ending injury in training camp, there was thought that Peters would easily slide back to his old position. But he demanded a raise to do as much and the Eagles ultimately obliged after some initial resistance.

Peters then struggled at left tackle before suffering an injury that caused him to miss a few games. Much to the dismay of Eagles fans, he eventually returned to replace promising young left tackle Jordan Mailata in the starting lineup.

The Eagles recently shifted Peters back to guard after Lane Johnson was ruled out for the season. He also struggled there and now he’s done.

It might be hard for some to overlook the disappointing way that Peters’ career ended in Philly. But, if not now, then at some point in the future there should be ultimately be an appreciation of Peters’ legendary career. This is a dude with a Super Bowl ring, nine Pro Bowl honors, and two first-team All-Pro selections. It’s been a remarkable journey for a player who entered the league as an undrafted rookie free agent tight end.

Getting back to the Eagles’ short-term outlook, it’ll be Nate Herbig who replaces Peters at right guard. And that means Philly will be using their 12th different starting offensive line combination in 13 games this season.