Eagles dodge a bullet with All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson’s injury vs. Rams
Huge relief for Philly.
The Philadelphia Eagles dodged a bullet with All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson after all.
Johnson, who was hurt on the Eagles’ Tush Push attempt in the first quarter of Sunday’s 33-26 win over the Los Angeles Rams, exited the game right after with a neck injury.
While neck injuries are very serious, Johnson told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he suffered a “stinger” or nerve injury and should be ready to play by Week 4’s matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“#Eagles RT Lane Johnson told me he had a stinger and that he expected to be back next week,” Jeff McLane wrote in X/Twitter.
Eagles Can Breathe Sigh of Relief
It’s a huge relief that the Eagles don’t have to worry about being without Johnson for more than a week because he is a key anchor on their offensive line.
“Lane Johnson is, in my opinion, no question about it in my mind that he’s the best player I’ve ever been around,” head coach Nick Sirianni said after the Eagles’ win. “He is one of the best players in the NFL, and sometimes it’s hard to see that as an offensive lineman. It doesn’t show itself, but Lane gives us so much ability to do different things because of who he is as a football player. Like I said, he’s one of the best players I’ve ever seen. Obviously, we have a lot of great players on this team, and they’re all up there, but Lane is special.”
It wasn’t a pretty sight at first when Johnson left the game. Matt Pryor stepped in for Johnson, and quarterback Jalen Hurts was immediately sacked. The Eagles soon replaced Pryor with Fred Johnson, who was a much better answer.
“Fred did a great job, just like Fred did last year in certain situations, to come in and play meaningful football,” Sirianni said. “It took a couple of series to go there. We had played some things with right left side as far as that goes with where they’ve been training, but offensive staff, [Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach Jeff] Stout [Stoutland], Kevin did a good job of saying, ‘Hey [G/T] Matt Pryor’s very important to this football team and the things that he does. Fred would maybe give us a better chance right now,’ and making that change. That’s hard to do sometimes, and I credit those guys a lot for that change.”