Today started off with some bright news but it didn’t take long for a worrisome report to restore normalcy. Right Tackle Lane Johnson spoke with reporters via Zoom and stated that he’s done for the year.
This is a huge blow to an already ailing offensive line, but it’s not a surprising one. Johnson has played in 407 snaps this year, but has only played a full game twice all season. He’s allowed just one sack in that time and has played consistently, but has done so while battling a lingering ankle injury that required offseason surgery.
The franchise right tackle was pulled from the team’s week 5 loss to Pittsburgh after only 39 snaps due to the injury. Johnson was also pulled from the win over San Francisco after playing 100% of snaps against the Bengals. At the time, it was expected that surgery would not be a requirement.
Johnson will now indeed need further work and has an expected timeline of 4-5 months.
Johnson has been an integral part of the Eagles offense ever since he was drafted back in 2013 with the fourth overall pick, developing into one of the league’s most decorated tackles. He’s due to cost the team $17M in cap space next season.
Matt Pryor will be bumped outside to RT, meaning that the offensive line (for Monday at least) looks like this:
LT: Jordan Mailata
LG: Isaac Seumalo
C: Jason Kelce
RG: Jason Peters
RT: Matt Pryor
Not ideal.
We could see rookie tackle Jack Driscoll get some playing time if Pryor struggles on the outside with the team already light on tackle depth. It’s puzzling that the Eagles continue to send players out on the field who are clearly hurt. Jason Kelce couldn’t buckle his chinstrap last week. DeSean Jackson lost an entire season, Jason Peters had turf toe and now Lane Johnson is out for the rest of the year. Something has to change. Soon.
Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire
