Lane Johnson downgraded to OUT vs. Cowboys

Entering last week, Lane Johnson was considered questionable for Sunday’s game against the Cowboys due to his recovery from offseason ankle surgery and a knee injury that caused him to leave Thursday’s game against the New York Giants. He didn’t practice early in the week but, by the end of the week, was able to practice and did not even receive an injury designation on the team’s final official injury report on Friday.

Then, on Sunday morning, Johnson was downgraded to questionable.

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This immediately threw up some red flags. If Johnson was able to avoid the injury report altogether on Friday, then something must have happened over the weekend that caused him to be downgraded. We speculated at the time that Johnson may have woken up sore:

It was a little strange that Johnson wasn’t listed as questionable to begin with, but this isn’t a good sign. Could mean that Johnson woke up sore. He’ll no doubt try to give it a go in warmups, but it’s no longer a lock that he will be able to play.

And according to a report from Jay Glazer on Fox, Johnson’s knee swelled up when he woke up this morning, and he has been downgraded to out.

When this news broke, I was actually working on a story about how the Eagles would be better off resting Lane Johnson for this game. That piece is now worthless, but here are the points I was going to make.

Johnson has been hurt all season as he has had trouble bouncing back from August ankle surgery, which is certainly understandable. As Doug Pederson said in a press conference earlier this week, Johnson wants to be on the field and is willing to tough it out through injuries. Again, this is admirable, but there comes a point where the team has to protect the player from himself.

Obviously, Johnson was close to being able to play in this game. But his absence is probably good for his long-term outlook for this season. Here’s why.

The Eagles last played a game on Thursday, October 22, which is when Johnson injured his knee. After Sunday’s game against the Cowboys, the Eagles don’t play again until November 15 because they have a bye week in Week 9. This means that Johnson will go more than three weeks without playing in a game (Oct. 22 – Nov 15), and he should be healthier than he has been all season by that point. That’s three more weeks for his ankle to heal, and it’s three weeks for his knee to get back to 100% (or close to it).

Make no mistake, Johnson will be missed on Sunday night. His absence means that Jordan Mailata will be tasked with stopped Dallas defensive end Dexter Lawrence, which is easier said than done. Johnson has dominated Lawrence in the past, and Mailata now has to switch back to right tackle after starting at left tackle over the last few weeks.

But even before the knee swelling, this was the right move for Johnson and the Eagles. If the Eagles are truly going to win the division and be legitimate playoff contenders, then they need to be able to beat a battered Cowboys team without him. Let him rest and get him healthy for the stretch run.

The Eagles, as an organization, have mismanaged injuries and recoveries countless times over the last few years. Johnson’s knee swelling up on Sunday morning not only saved Johnson from himself, but it saved the Eagles from making yet another mistake with a player recovering from multiple injuries.