Lane Johnson Putting Off Surgery Hoping to Return for Playoffs; What's Next at RT?
PHILADELPHIA – Jason Kelce said it best on Wednesday when asked about Lane Johnson and what’s next at right tackle.
“Nobody’s going to be Lane Johnson,” said the veteran center, after it was learned earlier in the day that the Eagles right tackle will need surgery to repair a torn abductor.
Johnson, though, will not have that surgery until such time as the Eagles’ season finally ends. He is hopeful he can return in time for the playoffs. For now, he will miss the final two regular season games.
Predictably, head coach Nick Sirianni did not want to reveal who would take over at right tackle for Johnson, saying he didn’t want the Saints to know who it would be while adding that there are options.
The belief is it will be Jack Driscoll.
There was a good-sized crowd of reporters gathered at Driscoll’s locker on Wednesday. The third-year lineman didn’t give much up, either, saying he will be ready for whatever his role is.
“Lane is a freak of nature,” said Driscoll. “Lane is one of the most athletic people I’ve ever seen in my life, so no, I wouldn’t put anything past him (as far as returning for the playoffs).
“Wherever they put me I feel comfortable. I feel confident wherever they put me. They trust me and whatever the role is for the week, just embracing it and going out there and executing to the best of my ability.”
Jordan Mailata seemed entrenched at left tackle so moving him to the right side to make way for Andre Dillard to step in doesn't seem likely. Mailata said that he is planning on playing left tackle but added that “you guys (referring to reporters) would know before me anyway.”
Dillard would be an interesting option.
He played the right side once and it was such a failure he was benched at halftime. That was three years ago, though, so maybe he has been cross-trained well enough that the Eagles will have confidence in him taking over for Johnson.
Mailata was asked if the Eagles can still be the league’s best offensive line without Johnson.
“That’s hard to answer,” he said. “We always talk about next-man-up mentality and that’s great, but someone as great as Lane - I’m not saying Jack isn’t up to that standard - it’s just that the presence of one player can affect the line.
“Will we be the best? I’m not sure. I can’t tell you that. Will we give everything we have? 100 percent. You can expect 200 percent from Jack or me, whoever goes in at right tackle this week. That’s one thing I know, the standard of Stoutland University. The player rises to that standard.”
Mailata was referring to offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland.
Whatever the option is, Kelce is right, nobody can be Johnson. The center isn’t despairing, though.
“We have a lot of good players on this team,” he said. “We don’t need somebody to go out there and be Lane Johnson. We just need somebody to go out there, be able to operate, and hopefully, the offense can still proceed and be itself with whoever’s out there.”
The last time Kelce missed a game was the 2014 season when he had surgery for a core muscle injury. He said, though, that no two core muscle injuries are the same.
“I don’t want to compare mine with what he’s going through,” he said. “I don’t want to be somebody, if you ask, 'Is it cool he’s putting off the surgery?' I’m not going to say anything. I don’t comment on anybody else’s injuries, what they’re going through. ...I don’t want to put pressure on him to do anything he doesn’t want to do.”
What Kelce knows is that Johnson will do everything he can to play again this season.
“He’s definitely played through other things before, but we’ll see,” he said. “We’ll definitely get a better feeling on that as he progresses (but) that’s who Lane is, obviously.
“He’s a guy who loves to play football, he’s been here a long time. He’s put everything on the line for this team for a number of years.”
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
