Jason Peters being traded from Buffalo to Philadelphia for first- and fourth-round picks in 2009 and a 2010 sixth-rounder.
The cause: The Bills finally grew tired of Peters' contract demands, especially when he was asking for a huge raise after allowing 11.5 sacks in 2008. Philadelphia was seeking a replacement for Tra' Thomas, who was allowed to leave via free agency to Jacksonville after 11 seasons as an Eagles starter. The effect: With Peters now gone, the Bills have to find a new starting left tackle. The most likely solution would come through the draft, but there is a good chance that the top four tackles (Baylor's Jason Smith, Virginia's Eugene Monroe, Mississippi's Michael Oher and Alabama's Andre Smith) will be gone by the time Buffalo selects at No. 11. A trade-up seems unlikely for a franchise that always stands pat in the first round to avoid paying larger sums of money to unproven college players.Another possibility for Buffalo is targeting a second-tier left tackle like Arizona's Ebon Britton or Connecticut's William Beatty with the No. 28 choice acquired by Philadelphia. If that doesn't work out, the Bills could target a stop-gap veteran in a trade with a team that drafts a tackle. Levi Jones and Jeff Backus are two players who could become available if the Bengals and/or Lions go in that direction. The fallback option is shifting Langston Walker from right tackle to left tackle and hope he is nimble enough to handle speed rushers.
As for Philadelphia, the Eagles believe a change of scenery and new six-year, $53 million contract will provide sufficient motivation for Peters to regain his shut-down form of 2007. The Eagles can now keep Todd Herremans and Shawn Andrews at guard rather than have to potentially convert one to left tackle. If free-agent signing and projected starting right tackle Stacy Andrews (Cincinnati) can recover from a serious knee injury, the Eagles should field one of the NFL's top offensive lines in 2009.
Week in Review
Big winner: New York Jets fans of the Jewish faith. The NFL should have known better than to schedule a late afternoon kickoff for the Jets on Yom Kippur, which is considered the most important Jewish holy day. After plenty of kvetching, the league wisely acquiesced by changing the Jets-Tennessee game to an early kickoff on Sept. 27.
Big loser: San Diego, Tennessee and their fans. It's understandable when the NFL plays games when Christmas falls on a Sunday. But the league went out of its way to schedule a Christmas night game between the Chargers and Titans on a Friday night. Bah, humbug.
Under-the-radar move: Cincinnati claiming RB Gary Russell off waivers from Pittsburgh. The Steelers want more speed from their kickoff returner in 2009 and Russell was expendable as a fourth-string running back behind Willie Parker, Rashard Mendenhall and Mewelde Moore. Russell will have a much better chance for playing time in Cincinnati competing with Chris Perry and Kenny Watson for snaps behind starter Cedric Benson.
