Officially, the Eagles aren’t worried about Halapoulivaati Vaitai replacing franchise legend Jason Peters at left tackle, this Sunday against San Francisco and presumably for the remainder of the season. Doug Pederson confirmed Friday that Vaitai will step in, as previously reported, with Lane Johnson staying at right tackle.
Unofficially, it’s complicated. Teammates and coaches do seem to feel Vaitai, a 6-6, 320-pound fifth-round pick in 2016, is ready to play and lacks only experience to become a solid, decent, reliable tackle. But Peters was so much more than that.
The Eagles have run the ball around left end 53 times this season, the most of any team in the NFL, taking advantage of Peters’ incredible power and agility.