Longtime NFL Tackle Retires, Joins Seahawks Front Office

Jason Peters of the Philadelphia Eagles looks on during the closing moments of a loss to Washington at Lincoln Financial Field on Dec. 26, 2015, in Philadelphia. Rich Schultz/Getty Images

Legendary left tackle Jason Peters is hanging up his cleats.

Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider said after his press conference Tuesday that the former nine-time Pro Bowler and six-time All-Pro was retiring to join the Seahawks’ front office as a “veteran mentor.” Peters spent the past two seasons with the Seahawks; he became the oldest active player in NFL history in 2023, and re-signed with the practice squad again in 2024. He played a total of 21 seasons with the Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, and Seahawks.

The Tacoma News Tribune’s Seahawks beat reporter, Gregg Bell, broke the news. “GM John Schneider says off podium here at NFL combine Jason Peters is retiring as a longtime offensive lineman to be assistant to Mo Kelly, the Seahawks’ vice president of player affairs,” he wrote in a post on X .

Seattle Times reporter Bob Condotta added that he will serve in a player engagement role, working closely with the offensive linemen.

The Seahawks made the announcement official on X, including a photoshopped image of a LinkedIn page for Peters announcing his new position.

In a statement to the Seahawks’ website, Kelly touted Peters’s “wealth of experience.”

“All the years that he’s played, he’s seen every kind of defense that you can ever concoct as a defensive coordinator and with a young group of offensive alignment, his name and what he’s accomplished over the years, speaks volumes,” said Kelly.

“He is a natural-born leader,” Kelly added. “How he carries himself in such a professional way, I think it’s going to be the little things that he’s going to be able to help with that people won’t know. It’s going to be hard to identify, but I'll know. When you’re talking about young guys that are going through transitioning, he can speak from knowledge of [I’ve done this before]. The other guys will listen and they’re hopefully going to fall in line.”

Peters was only on the practice squad, but he prepared for every game like a starter.

Kelly said Peters’ advice to young players would be effective because it is coming from an NFL legend rather than a coach or member of the staff. Kelly also said that the job is a “transition” that would help him evolve into a “mentor or coach” should he choose to go down that road.

“I think that he’s going to do a tremendous job,” said Kelly. “He’s been doing this for a long time, even when he was playing for other teams, he was still that guy, he still was the mentor. He was still the OG that everybody kind of looked up to and went to for answers.”

After playing tight end in college, Peters entered the league as an offensive tackle and was signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He won the starting right tackle job in 2006 and signed a five-year, $15 million contract with the team the following offseason. He was switched to left tackle in 2007, and won his first Pro Bowl selection, though an injury kept him out of the game. He held out for a new contract in 2008, but eventually returned to the team and earned a Pro Bowl start and a Second Team All-Pro nomination.

He was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2009, and signed a six-year, $60 million deal with the team. He was named to the Pro Bowl again in 2010 and 2011, along with another second team All-Pro nod in 2010. He missed the entire 2012 season with an Achilles tear; it was the only season he missed in his 21-year career. He signed three more extensions with the Eagles and played with them until 2020. He was on the Eagles team that won Super Bowl LII in 2018, though he missed the game due to injury.

He played one injury-shortened season with the Chicago Bears. He played for the Dallas Cowboys in 2022, becoming one of six offensive linemen to play a game in his 40s. When Tom Brady retired in 2023, he became the oldest active NFL player at 41. He signed with the Seahawks in 2023, and again in 2024.