Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson‘s appeal of his 10-game PED suspension has concluded, according to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter links). As expected, no decision has yet to be announced, but Johnson’s attorney Steve Zashin did release a statement.
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“There are a number of issues related to Lane’s appeal,” said Zashin. “Many of those issues strike at the heart of substantive player protections. We await the decision of the arbitrator. In the meantime Lane will prepare and play as scheduled.”
f the Eagles are without Johnson for more than half the season, it would be a crushing blow to their O-Line and offense as a whole. Johnson, the fourth overall pick in 2013, has been a starter for the Eagles since the team drafted him out of Oklahoma, playing primarily at right tackle before spending some time at left tackle in 2015.
In his three years with the Eagles, he has only missed four games due to his first PED suspension. This past season, Pro Football Focus ranked Johnson 24th among offensive tackles, out of 81 qualified players at the position.
The Eagles expect Johnson to be available for Sunday’s game against the Lions, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. But if Johnson’s ban is upheld, Philadelphia is considering employing Halapoulivaati Vaitai as a starter at right tackle in order to leave Allen Barbre at left guard, Ed Werder of ESPN.com tweets.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.