Eagles Mailbag: What’s the Plan Following Lane Johnson’s Retirement?
The Philadelphia Eagles are now .500 and are suddenly facing more questions than they entered the regular season with. Following countless injuries and Lane Johnson’s sudden retirement, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has his hands full. What’s the plan moving forward? I’ll answer that question and more in my latest Eagles mailbag.
Yes! In my opinion, former (it still feels weird to type this) Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson is the best player in franchise history. In fact, I actually listed Johnson as one of the four players in my Eagles Mount Rushmore back in July, alongside Brian Dawkins, Jason Kelce and Reggie White. Here’s what I wrote about Johnson in that article:
“Now here’s the likely controversial choice on my edition of the Eagles Mount Rushmore. Lane Johnson is the only active player that I’ve included on this prestigious list. The 36-year-old former first-round pick remains one of the best offensive tackles in the NFL today and has been a foundational player in Philadelphia during the franchise’s golden era.
Johnson is one of four Eagles players that was on both Super Bowl winning teams in franchise history and is easily the best player among that exclusive group. Here are Johnson’s notable accolades and accomplishments in franchise history:
Super Bowl Champion (LII, LIX)
Two-time First-team All-Pro
Three-time Second-team All-Pro
Six-time Pro Bowl
Eighth in games played (168)
While Johnson may not have the personality that Dawkins or Kelce possessed, he has helped reinvent the right tackle position in the NFL and has remained a pillar on Philadelphia’s offense for over a decade. The team’s record with and without Johnson on the field speaks for itself. When it’s all said and done, Johnson could be remembered as the best offensive lineman in franchise history.”
First of all, tell your 10-year-old that everything is going to be okay and that I appreciate the question. It might sound crazy but the Eagles are better prepared for Johnson’s retirement now than they were a season or two ago. Philadelphia’s front office knew that this day was coming soon, although they were likely hoping that it wasn’t going to be until next season. Yet there’s a reason why they drafted former Miami offensive tackle Markel Bell in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Eagles identified Bell as Johnson’s eventual successor and at least he got to work behind the eventual Hall of Famer for six months or so. Now Bell will get the next 13 games to audition for the starting right tackle job in Philadelphia. The rest of the team’s offensive line is in a bit of a transition as Willie Lampkin and Drew Kendall may also get extended looks as starters too. Either way, I’m actually excited to watch all of the young players develop along the offensive line.
This may be the biggest question for Philadelphia’s offensive line right now. Given the team’s struggles with dealing with the blitz and setting protections, it feels like less change would be better. Therefore, I’d lean towards simply inserting Willie Lampkin at left guard while Cam Jurgens is out due to a concussion. If Lampkin impresses and the offensive line improves, then you can move forward with that group and shop Jurgens at the trade deadline.
Yet there’s also an argument to be made to move Kendall to left guard and insert Lampkin at center. If that double move is made, it would feel like another major shift and signal that Jurgens’ time in Philadelphia is coming to an end. While making two changes instead of one isn’t ideal, it might be what’s best for the comfortability of both players. During the preseason, Kendall primarily played left guard, while Lampkin primarily played center. We’ll see.
The Eagles have reportedly signed center James Brockermeyer to the practice squad, so that’s the first new name in the mix. Brockermeyer is new to Philadelphia, yet he played with Bell at Miami and was also at Alabama with several Eagles players in 2022. I’d also expect the Eagles to sign one of either John Ojukwu or Jake Majors from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, then elevating the other from the practice squad for Week 5.
When the regular season schedule was revealed in May, I made my game-by-game predictions and had the Eagles going 11-6. My prediction included a 2-2 start, which is obviously where they’re at right now. Yet it simply doesn’t feel like this team is trending in the right direction or going to go 11-6. As of right now, I’d change my final record prediction to 9-8.
For the second consecutive season, Philadelphia’s offensive line remains at the top of the list of issues for an embarrassingly inefficient offense. While it’s easy to point the finger at another first-year offensive play-caller, I can’t put all of this on Sean Mannion right now. Although I will admit that the Eagles are dealing with somewhat of an identity crisis. Mannion wants the Eagles to run an under center offense with heavy personnel, yet they simply don’t have the ability to do so.
Therefore, Mannion is stuck in this awkward spot where he wants to believe in his own philosophy and offensive scheme — but he doesn’t have the players to carry out his vision. Instead of adapting to the personnel that is available, Mannion continues to try and force a square peg in a round hole, which clearly isn’t working. Philadelphia needs to embrace life in 11-personnel and primarily operate out of shotgun and pistol formations. Until they opt to do so, the offense will likely continue to struggle.
Yes! Although it depends on what your definition of okay is. In my mind, I’m actually excited to watch this team walk the tight rope of trying to remain a playoff contender while also developing young players at key positions. We aren’t used to the Eagles going through struggles along the offensive line, yet that’s what we’ve now watched hamper the team’s offense in back-to-back seasons. Therefore, I’m ready to see what a group of fresh new faces has to offer upfront.
While the Eagles may not be Super Bowl contenders anymore, there are still so many different directions that this team can go. If things completely fall off the rails, does that mean that we’ll see a full reset with a new head coach and quarterback in 2027? What if they’re able to rally the troops and surprise everyone despite the adversity that they’re currently facing? There are so many different possibilities and I’m just excited to watch it all unfold throughout the rest of the season.
Now this is where things can get really interesting for the Eagles and especially Roseman in 2026. Let’s say that the Eagles are hovering around .500 by the time that the trade deadline rolls around on November 10 — What path is Roseman going to take? In the past, Roseman has rarely been a seller at the trade deadline. Yet if he’s staring at a potential full reset in the offseason, Roseman should consider getting an early start and cashing in some of his trade assets.
It’s also worth noting that Philadelphia’s bye week is in Week 10, which conveniently aligns with the trade deadline. The Eagles play on Sunday, November 8 and then don’t play again until Sunday, November 22. Therefore, if Roseman wants to sell, the team will essentially have two weeks to adjust to those changes. Here are the players that I could see Roseman shopping at the trade deadline (and his likely asking price for those players):
IDL Moro Ojomo: 2027 third-round pick
CB Riq Woolen: 2027 third-round pick
TE Dallas Goedert: 2027 fifth-round pick
C/G Cam Jurgens: 2027 sixth-round pick
WR Hollywood Brown: 2027 sixth-round pick
OT Fred Johnson: 2027 seventh-round pick
QB Tanner McKee: 2027 seventh-round pick
QB Andy Dalton: 2027 seventh-round pick
The Eagles are currently projected to have eight total draft picks in the 2027 NFL Draft. If they become sellers at the trade deadline, as previously mentioned, that would obviously add to Roseman’s treasure chest of assets. Regardless, I’d expect the Eagles to spend at least two draft picks along the offensive line. Roseman has prioritized building in the trenches and I expect that to continue following everything that has transpired this season.
Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata is essentially the only player that is currently a lock to start along Philadelphia’s offensive line next season. The future of Dickerson and Jurgens is murky, at best. Tyler Steen is set to be an unrestricted free agent and Johnson just retired. While Kendall, Lampkin, Bell and others could show flashes, Roseman is still going to have to add more along the offensive line.