Report: Lane Johnson putting off surgery, will play in the playoffs [UPDATE]

The report is optimistic, however, that the Eagles right tackle will be back in time for the playoffs.

UPDATE: Lane Johnson is reportedly going to put off surgery in order to play in the postseason.

ORIGINAL STORY BELOW.

Certainly not the news we were hoping for, but it’s being reported that Lane Johnson will miss the remainder of the season due to an abdominal tear suffered against the Cowboys.

It looked bad on the field. It looked bad when he went straight from the medical tent to the locker room. And now we know why.

This is rough for a number of reasons, but at the top of the list is the importance of Johnson to protecting the quarterback. The right tackle led the league in snaps (928) without allowing a sack, which is insane — and also critical to the type of offense the Eagles run.

Jack Driscoll came in for Johnson, but it was obvious that Gardner Minshew didn’t quite have as much time as he needed in the final offensive drive of the game. We’ll see if the Eagles keep Driscoll at right tackle, or if they move some other pieces around — like moving Isaac Seumalo to tackle and Driscoll over to guard, instead.

Hopefully Johnson will be healthy enough to play in the postseason, and if the Eagles secure the first round bye, that will go a long way to helping that happen.

Back in 2019, Johnson argued that the Eagles were a right guard away (Brandon Brooks) from beating the Saints and probably going back to the Super Bowl in the 2018 postseason. If Johnson is unable to return and it affects the run game and Jalen Hurts’ ability to be the dual-threat we all love, you could argue the Eagles were just a right tackle away from the same.