Peters gets nod to start Pro Bowl
Buffalo Bills left tackle Jason Peters started the season in a contract dispute but will end it with another invitation to the Pro Bowl. The fifth-year veteran was the only Buffalo player this season who was selected to the first team for the annual all-star game, which is set for Feb. 8 in Honolulu.
Peters was named a starter for the second straight year, a first for a Bills offensive tackle since Howard Ballard was selected in 1992 and ’93. He missed the game last season after undergoing sports-hernia surgery. His selection Tuesday afternoon came as a surprise to many who believed he had a drop-off in performance from a year ago.
He was among the more dominant NFL linemen last season but struggled for much of this year after staging a 43-day holdout. He disappeared from One Bills Drive after last season, skipped all offseason workouts, blew off training camp and missed the season opener before showing up for his first practice Sept. 8.
Peters after this year will still have two seasons remaining on the five-year contract that was the source of his anger. The Bills refused to negotiate with him until he showed up for the season and only then were willing to leave a new deal open for discussion. He amassed some $650,000 in fines before rejoining the team.
The Bills were off Tuesday. Peters was unavailable for comment.
What effect, if any, his second Pro Bowl selection will have on future negotiations was uncertain Tuesday. Peters can make the argument that he’s a premier player in the league at his position. The Bills can counter that he didn’t play nearly as well this season as he did last year, when he emerged as a dominant blocker.
Some wondered if his absence from training camp contributed to problems that seemed to plague the offensive line all season. The Bills at various points took turns bungling blocking schemes.
Peters allowed only two sacks last season, but he had given up six in his first four games alone this season and struggled to regain his form for almost the entire year. On Sunday, he whiffed on a block that allowed Abram Elam to sack J. P. Losman from his blind side, forcing a fumble that was returned for a touchdown late in the Jets’ 31-27 victory.
Regardless, the Pro Bowl selection should give him more leverage for restarting talks about a new deal. He made $3.25 million in salary this season and was looking for roughly 2z times that amount on a long-term deal that could make him the highest-paid player on the team.
Peters, who signed as an undrafted free agent out of Arkansas in 2004, has started 53 of the past 55 games at tackle, including 37 of 39 at left tackle. He joined Ballard, Stew Barber (1963-67), Paul Costa (1965-66) and Will Wolford (1990, ’92) as the only offensive tackles in team history to be selected to more than one Pro Bowl.
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments