6 Best Offensive Tackles Hitting the Market this Offseason Part 3

By BetOnline February 9, 2020

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BY ADAM GREENE

Our final installment is our most diverse, with a guy likely looking at his final contract and another ready to cash in on his first real chance to make some dough.

5. JASON PETERS, LT, UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENT

6-4, 328 pounds, 38 years old, PFF Grade: 81.8

Peters has enjoyed a long and storied career with the Philadelphia Eagles. Brought over as a free agent from the Buffalo Bills in 2009, he’s made nine Pro Bowls, been an All Pro twice and got to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy in 2017. Along the way he’s pocketed $111.721 million as a star left tackle. It’s been a full career.

But every indication is he’s not ready to hang it up just yet. After signing a one-year, $6 million deal with the Eagles last offseason, he might not be so quick to jump at that kind of money if offered again. He likely has two more good years left and is worth the at least $8-10 million he could get on the open market.

Where he should end up: Seattle Seahawks

Current Seattle left tackle Duane Brown has two years left on his contract, but is just an average, capable starter. That’s more than his counterpart, Germaine Ifedi, who is also a free agent, can say on the right side of the Seahawks’ line. Ifedi scored a 56.2 PFF grade this season and was the fifth most penalized offensive lineman in the league. Why not add Peters to the left side for a couple of seasons, move Brown to the right and maximize the narrowing Super Bowl window the Seahawks currently enjoy?

6. MATT FEILER, RT, RESTRICTED FREE AGENT

6-6, 330 Pounds, 27 years old, PFF Grade: 75.2

The Pittsburgh Steelers grabbed Feiler off the Houston trash heap in 2015 after the Texans cut him. He was an undrafted free agent out of Bloomsberg, but after a couple of seasons of real coaching, became a legitimate NFL starter and an above average right tackle.

Now, just as Pittsburgh can make the most of the work they put in Feiler, paying him $645,000 last season, he’s free to sign with any team that can find value with a talented right tackle in his prime. So, you know, everybody.

Where he should end up: Pittsburgh Steelers

As an RFA, the Steelers have the right to match any offer Feiler gets on the market and get draft pick compensation if they don’t. That all depends on what tender they offer him and if they’re smart, it’ll be first round at $4.667 million. That’s still super cheap for a starting right tackle.

The issue, of course, is that Pittsburgh is upside in the 2020 salary cap, currently $2,181 million over. They have a lot of moves and restructuring to do and seemingly far too many players like Bud Dupree, Artie Burns and Javon Hargrave hitting free agency to keep them all.

But if you can’t find $4 million for a starting tackle, you don’t have a team. So this one is an easy call to make.