Holdout left tackle Peters quiet when it comes to returning organization’s voice mails, texts
Bills’ outreaches met with silence
PITTSFORD — The holdout of Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Jason Peters reached its eighth day Friday, leaving team officials frustrated and coaches and players wondering if it will ever end.
Holdouts are not unusual. Each summer in the NFL a handful of players are always holding out in an effort to get a better contract.
What is unusual in Peters’ case is the silent treatment he is giving the Bills. He hasn’t replied to any text messages or voice mails left by team officials and he’s had very little contact with his teammates.
Combined with the fact Peters’ agent, Eugene Parker, had no substantive attempts to start negotiations with the Bills before training camp began, it adds up to a strange holdout scenario.
Parker was unavailable for comment.
Peters now is subject to $120,982 in fines from the Bills. That’s based on a daily maximum potential fine of $15,116.
Given the fact Peters stands to make more than $8 million if his contract is renegotiated, the fine is not exorbitant. The biggest free agent deal the past two years for a free agent lineman was an $8 million- a-year salary given to guard Alan Faneca this March by the New York Jets.
Peters is scheduled to make $3.25 million this season, the third year of a contract he signed in July 2006. Peters still has three years remaining on that deal.
Even if Peters comes to camp, the Bills expect him to continuing playing under his current contract. Perhaps things could change, but for right now the Bills have no plans to give him a new deal this season.
Their stance means this stalemate could drag on well into the preseason.
It also means his teammates may not be hearing from Peters for quite a while.
“I don’t want people to think he’s not talking to us because of the contract,” said free safety George Wilson, who played with Peters at the University of Arkansas. “I don’t think that’s the case. When we’re here in Buffalo we all spend time together, we go out to eat, we go bowling.
“When Jason gets away, he gets away. I probably only talked to him once last offseason, too.”
Left guard Derrick Dockery is one of the few players who has communicated with Peters since training camp began. Dockery said they exchanged a couple of text messages, but Peters gave no indication if he’ll report any time soon.
“He just told me to keep the guys going and he can’t wait to get back out with us,” Dockery said. “So I’m hoping for the best that it will get taken care of before the season starts. I know Jason. I know how he is. When he gets in he’ll be ready to play.”
The Bills hope so, but they won’t know for sure until they see for themselves.
Peters had surgery to repair a sports hernia shortly after last season. The Bills don’t know if he’s fully recovered because he has not been in contact with the team trainers or medical staff.
It’s customary for injured players to rehabilitate under the supervision of team trainers at the Bills’ facility. Teams also monitor players’ progress when they are out of town.
That’s been impossible with Peters because no one has seen or heard from him since shortly after the surgery in January.
Meanwhile, the Bills continue to get ready for the season without their best offensive lineman and perhaps their most valuable offensive player.
As for his teammates, they, like everyone else in the organization, are waiting for Peters to make his presence felt one way or another.
“I think a lot of guys haven’t talked to Jason because they are focused on what they need to get done in training camp to get ready for the season,” tight end Robert Royal said. “Hopefully we’ll hear from him soon because we need him. But this is a business and things have to work out on that end. So until that happens we have to keep working and hope the situation gets taken care of.”
