Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson suffered an abdominal injury that is expected to sideline him for the remainder of the regular season, a league source confirmed to The Inquirer on Monday morning.
Johnson, 32, was injured in the fourth quarter of the team’s 40-34 loss to the Cowboys on Saturday. He was replaced by reserve offensive lineman Jack Driscoll. After Saturday’s game, Johnson was seen exiting the visitors’ dressing room wearing a medical bandage around his waist/groin. Further testing revealed that Johnson had torn a tendon in his abdominal area.
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The Eagles hope Johnson will return for the postseason, although that could depend on how his body responds to treatment over the next few weeks, a league source said.
Johnson, a four-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro pick, has been a key anchor on one of the NFL’s best offensive lines since the Eagles picked him as the No. 4 draft in the 2013 draft. According to Pro Football Focus, he hasn’t conceded a sack in 28 games, which is the longest streak in the league.
“He just dialed in,” tight end Dallas Goedert said recently. “Every time he gets his hands on someone, it’s game over. This record is a [heck] a performance. Whenever he comes on the field, he’s the best tackle there is.”
Johnson initially suffered an abdominal injury earlier this month during the Eagles’ Week 14 win over the New York Giants. At the time, Johnson described his injury as “changes” to his “lower right abdominal/oblique area.” While Johnson missed the second half of that game, he was back on the starting lineup the following week in Chicago.
In Johnson’s 10 seasons, the Eagles are 72-44-1 (.620) when he plays and only 12-20 (.375) without him in the lineup.
The Eagles have two regular season games left against the New Orleans Saints (January 1) and the Giants (January 7/8) at Lincoln Financial Field. They can seed the NFC No. 1 which, with another win, would give them a bye week along with home field advantage during the playoffs. If the Eagles are able to lock down the conference top seed, their first playoff game would be on either January 21 or 22 at Lincoln Financial Field
This is an evolving story. Check for updates again.