Lane Johnson’s late-breaking absence forced the Eagles to scramble. It’s unclear if he’ll be back for Week 5
"We miss him out there," Cam Jurgens said of Johnson after Sunday's loss.
Nick Sirianni did not have a firm answer when asked if he expected to have Lane Johnson back with the Eagles as they turn the page from their second consecutive loss and begin preparations for a Week 5 game in London vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“We’ll see where we are,” Sirianni said.
The Eagles entered Sunday expecting Johnson to be in uniform for their 1 p.m. game vs. the Los Angeles Rams, but Johnson was a late scratch due to what the team called a personal issue. The team was instead forced to play with just seven offensive linemen in uniform, with third-round pick Markel Bell inserted as Johnson’s replacement at right tackle and no real backup.
Sirianni did not explain the sequence of events Sunday morning that led to the late scramble.
“I think you guys know that he’s dealing with a personal matter and that’s really all I’m going to say on that,” he said after the Eagles allowed 14 unanswered points in the second half of a 24-20 defeat.
Johnson missed time during training camp due to a personal matter and, upon returning, said that the 2026 season likely would be his last. The future Hall of Fame tackle has been open about his mental health struggles. He missed three games in 2021 while dealing with anxiety and depression.
» READ MORE: Battered Eagles can’t hold off Rams in wet conditions, lose Saquon Barkley and Quinyon Mitchell in 24-20 loss
It’s unclear if Sunday’s absence is related. Neither Sirianni nor Jordan Mailata elaborated on Johnson’s absence.
“I can’t speak on that,” Mailata said.
Said Cam Jurgens: “It’s football. It’s always the next man up. It’s tough because that’s one of our brothers. We miss him out there.”
The offense sputtered for a variety of reasons in the second half on Sunday, but Jalen Hurts was under duress when dropping back. The Rams, seeking to take advantage of an offensive line down two starters, blitzed the Eagles on 60.6% of his dropbacks, according to Next Gen. Pro Football Focus had Hurts under pressure on 15 of his 34 dropbacks, and Bell was charged for a team-high five pressures, which included two of Hurts’ four sacks.
Mailata said he didn’t think Johnson’s absence had a major effect on the offense.
“I can only attest to the guys that were on the field,” he said. “I don’t like playing those sort of what-ifs, or could-have-done-this, should-have-done-this. We just simply couldn’t finish the drives.”
Bell was no longer in the locker room when the doors opened to reporters after the game.
» READ MORE: Eagles grades vs. Rams: Jalen Hurts and the offense struggle as Eagles collapse late
“I would like to think as a leader on this offense, I have a lot of belief in the next man up,” Mailata said. “There’s a reason why we drafted Markel high up and … Sometimes the situation is he’s got to be that next man up and you find out on Sundays."
Sirianni said he thought Bell “battled and went in there and played his butt off.”
Asked how he processed Johnson being out and getting the team ready to play Sunday, Hurts said: “Very unfortunate for his unavailability today. In the end, it was the next man up mentality. Kept the focus on the team, kept the focus on us trying to go out there and be at our best. We had an opportunity to do that.”
For one half, there was progress, but things fell apart late.
It’s unclear yet if Johnson will be back with the team for Week 5. An extended absence would potentially force Howie Roseman to make a move. The Eagles also are without reserve tackle Fred Johnson, who has been dealing with a knee injury. They have two tackles on the practice squad in John Ojukwu and Kiran Amegadjie, one of which likely would have been elevated had the Eagles known Johnson wasn’t going to play on Sunday.
Johnson had been considering retirement before deciding to return to the Eagles for the 2026 season.
“As you get older, things change in your life,” he said in August. “Priorities. Your children get older, parents get older. It puts things in perspective. So it’s looking like, potentially, this is probably going to be my last year. I am getting to that point where priorities away from football are starting to merge.”
