Jason Peters

Infobox NFLactive


name=Jason Peters
|width=
caption=
currentteam=Buffalo Bills
currentnumber=71
currentpositionplain=Offensive tackle
birthdate=birth date and age|1982|1|22
birthplace=Queen City, Texas
heightft=6
heightin=4
weight=340
debutyear=2004
debutteam=Buffalo Bills
college=Arkansas
undraftedyear=2004
pastteams=
* Buffalo Bills (2004-present)
status=Did Not Report
highlights=
* Second-team All-SEC (2003)
* All-Pro selection (2007)
* Pro Bowl selection (2007)
statweek=17
statseason=2007
statlabel1=Games played
statvalue1=52
statlabel2=Games started
statvalue2=42
statlabel3=Touchdowns
statvalue3=2
nfl=PET150539

Jason Raynard Peters (born January 22, 1982, city-state|Queen City|Texas) is an American football offensive tackle for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He was signed by the Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He played college football at Arkansas.

Peters was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2007.

Early years

Peters played football for Queen City High School, where he earned All-District honors at defensive end.

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

Peters was picked up by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted rookie free agent in April 2004. He was cut then re-signed to the Bills' practice squad. He was signed to the active roster on November 12, 2004. [http://www.buffalobills.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=122567 #71 Jason Peters - Buffalo Bills ] ] Peters made his mark on special teams as a feared wedge buster on kickoffs and as a blocking tight end, while beginning to learn to play offensive tackle under the tutelage of offensive line coach Jim McNally.

In 2005, Peters beat out former Texas star Mike Williams for starting right tackle on the Bills. Peters was rewarded for his play, signing a five-year, $15 million contract extension with the Bills in the offseason.

In 2006, Peters began the season entrenched as the starting right tackle. After Week 7, the Bills reshuffled their offensive line to better protect quarterback J. P. Losman. Peters was moved to left tackle, replacing Mike Gandy who moved inside to left guard.

After the 2006 season, "Sports Illustrated" 's Paul Zimmerman debated selecting Peters to his All-Pro team. "I was rooting for the Bills' Jason Peters, whom I would have loved to pick, but he isn't there yet. Very athletic, but not enough of a roughneck." [ [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/dr_z/01/04/all.pros/1.html/ Sports Illustrated online, January 5, 2007] ]

In 2007, Peters saw his best years as a pro, to date, and was selected to start at left tackle on the AFC Pro-Bowl team. It came after an overall dominating season, and was very little surprise to many around the league. As offensive line coach Jim McNally put it, "His ability is limitless." He injured his groin in a game against the New York Giants, and was unable to attend the Pro Bowl game. He was the first Bills offensive lineman to make the Pro Bowl since Ruben Brown in 2003. Joe Thomas was selected to replace him in the Pro Bowl.

Peters has been unhappy with his contract, and did not report to any of the Bills 2008 offseason workouts including the teams' mandatory minicamps. Head Coach Dick Jauron has said that he will be fined and will even be taken out of the lineup if he doesn't show.

"I thought Jason would be at our mandatory minicamp, but that’s a decision he’s made and he’ll be fined,” Jauron said. “I wish he was here, obviously. But also on the flip side of it, for me, I have lots of other things going on. The guys that are here are working really hard, so we’ll work with those guys.”

Fueling Peters' angst is that he is only the third-highest paid offensive lineman on the team despite being the Bills' only Pro Bowl blocker. Before the 2007 season, Buffalo gave two sizable contracts to free agent offensive linemen. Left guard Derrick Dockery was lured away from the Washington Redskins with a 7-year, $49 million contract with $18 million signing bonus, the third largest in NFL history at his position. Right tackle Langston Walker came in from the Oakland Raiders, signing a 5-year, $25 million contarct with a $10 milllion bonus. When comparing Peters to players on other teams, the Seattle Seahawks' left tackle, Walter Jones, the NFC's starting left tackle in last year's Pro Bowl, is under a contract signed in 2005 for $50 million over seven years. However, it should be noted that Jones was a five time pro bowl selection prior to signing his 2005 contract while Peters has been selected to only one pro bowl.

Peters reportedly wants a contract between $8 million and $11.5 million per season in a contract extension. [ [http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/billsnfl/story/368294.html Bills faced with raising the ceiling] ] According to ESPN.com, Jason Peters is the 2nd highest rated left tackle in the video game Madden 2009 with a 97 rating (Joe Thomas is 1st). Peters was rated an 87 in the 2008 version.

On July 25, the NFL Network's Adam Schefter reported Jason Peters would not report to the Bills' training camp at Saint John Fisher College in Pittsford, N.Y. Schefter also said Peters was willing to sit out the entire season to get a new and improved contract. [Brown; NFL Network says Peters to hold out, BuffaloBills.com, July 25, 2008]

On August 20 Training Camp for the Bills came to an end with Peters being absent for the whole camp and all of the preseason games. On August 21 the Bills signed Rookie Tackle Dustin Dickinson to help Langston Walker fill the void. On September 5, Jason Peters ended his holdout and returned to the Buffalo Bills. Peters was fined over $560,000 for missing all of training camp, but if he had missed a regular season game, he would have been fined $191,000 for each game he missed.

coring plays

*Punt block recovered for a touchdown during the 2004 season vs the Cincinnati Bengals.
*Caught first career touchdown pass from J. P. Losman against the Houston Texans in the first game of the 2005 NFL season.

References

External links

* [http://buffalobills.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=122567 Buffalo Bills bio]