Eagles offensive line coach not ruling out Lane Johnson for Cowboys game

Eagles starting right tackle Lane Johnson reportedly suffered a “Grade 2 sprained MCL” that could keep him “sidelined [for] about a month” during Philadelphia’s Week 8 win over the Jaguars.

But perhaps Johnson actually won’t miss any starts?

For what it’s worth, Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland was not willing to rule out Johnson for this week’s game against the Dallas Cowboys.

“You’re not counting Lane out, are you,” Stoutland asked, via The Morning Call. “I mean, I think he’s a tough guy. I think that, knowing Lane Johnson, anything he can do to be out on that field, he’ll be [there]. I’m not a doctor or anything like that, but I just, I know how he operates.”

Earlier this season, Stoutland essentially revealed that Jason Peters would be starting at left tackle against the Panthers in Week 7 despite reports suggesting he might miss a game or two. So with in mind, maybe his optimism bodes well for Johnson’s playing chances in this case.

The Eagles could really use Johnson’s presence given that they’ll be tasked with slowing down DeMarcus Lawrence on Sunday evening. Lawrence ranks tied for 13th in sacks this season with 6.5. He finished second overall last season with 14.5. Lawrence has forced five fumbles in his last 24 games, which is concerning due to Carson Wentz’s issues with losing the ball this season.

Even if Johnson plays, it’s clear he’ll impacted by injury to some extent. But even at least than 100% he could still be a better option than a healthy Halapoulivaati Vaitai, who ranks 65th out of 79 offensive tackles in pass protection this season by PFF. Johnson comes in at 38th.

Doug Pederson will likely address the status of Johnson (among other injured players) during his Wednesday morning press conference. The Eagles will then release their first official injury report later that day.

Speaking of other injured players, Zack Rosenblatt of NJ.com notes defensive backs coach Cory Undlin referred to Sidney Jones (hamstring) and Jalen Mills (foot) as “week-to-week.” That makes it sound like they won’t be suiting up against Dallas. It could be Rasul Douglas starting on the outside in place of Mills with newly acquired Cre’Von LeBlanc manning the nickel corner position.

UPDATE: Perhaps this tweet is a sign Johnson plans on playing?