According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Eagles RT Lane Johnson will not require surgery on his injured ankle:
“Johnson gathered additional opinions on his nagging ankle injury and came to the determination the solution is a matter of rest and fighting through the issue, per Garafolo. His availability for Sunday’s game against the Ravens will be determined later in the week.”
The franchise right tackle was pulled from the team’s week 5 loss to Pittsburgh after only 39 snaps. Johnson was also pulled from the win over San Francisco after playing 100% of snaps against the Bengals.
Jack Driscoll, a rookie out of Auburn, has been filling in admirably when Johnson has been unable to go, but the persistence of this injury is concerning.
The Eagles’ offensive line is battered and bruised as it is. Without its starting left tackle, left guard, or right guard, losing Lane Johnson for any period of time is a tough pill to swallow. But we also know that the last time an Eagles player opted against surgery, things didn’t exactly go swimmingly and this medical staff, for whatever reason, has a very bad track record in situations like this.
The Eagles are now 9-12 without Lane in the line up since he was drafted, they are 57-38-1 with him. Prior to the Rams game, his impact was clear:
With Johnson in the lineup, they average 264.97 passing yards per game and 123.75 rushing yards per game.
Without Johnson in the lineup, they averaged 263.15 passing yards per game and 117.65 rushing yards per game. Less passing and less rushing yards per game without their right tackle.
Being careful with Johnson has to be the priority here. The Eagles have a tough run of games coming up and while it may be tempting to throw the three-time Pro Bowler back into action prematurely, cutting their nose to spite their face might well be the better option in the long-run.
Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire
