Report: Lane Johnson expected to try to play against Washington

Eagles starting right tackle Lane Johnson is “expected to try to play today” against the Washington Football Team, according to a report from NFL insider Mike Garafolo. He adds that Johnson “hopes to make it through” given all the injuries the Eagles are dealing with on the offensive line and elsewhere.

Well, it’s good to see that Johnson is definitely not playing. But the language involved here is still troubling. One must wonder how effective Johnson will be. He was limited in practice all week since he’s still recovering from the ankle surgery he had in August. It’d be pretty bad if Johnson gets further injured by playing in Week 1.

If Johnson has to leave the game early, the Eagles could be forced to move Matt Pryor — assuming he starts at right guard — over to right tackle and replace him with Nate Herbig. Or the Eagles could plug rookie Jack Driscoll into the lineup against Ryan Kerrigan. What could go wrong?

The Eagles’ injury situation isn’t so disqualifying that they don’t have a prayer to win this game. But it’s certainly not comforting.