How Saints Star Cam Jordan Helped Lane Johnson Fight Through a Painful Injury
PHILADELPHIA - A torn groin muscle doesn’t sound like a pleasant diagnosis for an NFL offensive lineman, but Eagles’ All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson has made it through the first two games of the postseason in a more than serviceable fashion, keeping alive the All-Pro’s impressive streak of not allowing a sack since Week 11 of the 2020 season.
“I feel better now than I did initially in the first game (of the playoffs against the New York Giants)," Johnson said Friday as the Eagles continued preparation for their Super Bowl LVII matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 12.
According to Johnson, the 38-7 win over the New York Giants in the divisional round was the real test and he held up well, shutting out a Giants pass rush that featured a heavy dose of talented rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux on the right tackle’s side over 27 pass-protection snaps.
“The first game was my biggest challenge,” said Johnson. "Obviously, the last game (against San Francisco) was a challenge in itself. But I feel like the first game, for me, personally, was harder. Because I wasn’t sure that I could play through it. But after the initial contact at first, in the first game, I was good. I had better confidence from the second drive on.”
Johnson suffered a torn adductor on Dec. 24 at Dallas and sat out the final two regular-season games with the intent of trying to play through the pain in the postseason.
He followed the Giants' performance with another clean sheet over 30 reps against the 49ers’ No. 1 ranked defense with likely Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa as the headliner.
The two shoutouts were something even Johnson’s doctor, renowned core-muscle specialist Dr. William Meyers wasn’t sure Johnson could do.
“I had been talking to Doctor Meyers. I think he said multiple hockey players had been through it, but he wasn’t sure that he’s operated on guys that played through it in football,” Johnson said. “Not to say that you couldn’t.”
Core strength is obviously extremely important for offensive linemen in what is a very physical game.
Cesar Ruiz, a Camden native who was a 2020 first-round pick out of Michigan by New Orleans in 2020, often works out at Johnson’s South Jersey “Bro Barn” in the offseason and told Johnson that Saints’ eight-time Pro Bowl selection Cam Jordan played through the same injury to some success in 2020.
“Cesar Ruiz was his teammate,” Johnson said and the connection was made: “So I reached out to (Jordan), and he pretty much said, ‘Good luck, it’s going to hurt.’ I think (Jordan) went through it in 2020. …But after hearing that Cam did it, that increased my confidence.”
Johnson isn’t going to be 100% until Meyers performs surgery to repair the damage in the offseason but two games have confirmed that the Eagles’ star is performing well enough to expect his awe-inspiring sackless streak to reach into the offseason.
“It is what it is, but it’s not bothering me to the extent that it was earlier,” Johnson said. “... The more practices that I do, I feel like this longer stretch has allowed my body to heal in general.
"So, I think that, and having this additional week to practice (for the Super Bowl])and rehab has been huge. I don’t have to press it like I did last week.”
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
