The Eagles received concerning news about right tackle Lane Johnson on Monday afternoon.
There was another update on one of the Eagles most important players on Wednesday as NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that Johnson will put off his surgery and plan to rehab and rest to rejoin the team for the playoffs.
Johnson will likely not be at 100%, but considering he is the best right tackle in the league he could be a better option than most other guys in the league at only a fraction of his ability.
Of course, a win against the Saints this week (and/or the Giants the following week) would be ideal as it would secure the one-seed and the bye for the Eagles, giving them an extra week where they can rest players like Johnson.
Johnson has famously not allowed a sack for over a year’s worth of playing time, so his absence is likely to be noticeable.
Of course, the Eagles do also have the best offensive line coach in the league (Jeff Stoutland) in addition to the best depth on the offensive line.
Jack Driscoll has been the type of player that could be a starter for other teams in the snaps he’s needed to fill in at either tackle or guard. He would seem like the favorite to start in Johnson’s absence.
The Eagles also have a second starting left tackle in Andre Dillard, so it is feasible that the team tries out Jordan Mailata on the right side and inserts Dillard at left tackle.
The Eagles, unfortunately, lost Brett Toth to the PUP list during training camp so Sua Opeta, Josh Sills and Cam Jurgens are the only other reserve linemen currently on the 53-man roster and they have all been interior linemen for most of their careers. The team does have Fred and Roderick Johnson (no relation between any of them) on the practice squad and the two have a combined 57 games of experience with 14 starts between them. It would seem likely that one of the pair is at least elevated to the active roster for the games that Johnson will miss.
