Philadelphia Eagles’ Lane Johnson suspended 4 games for use of PED’s
The Philadelphia Eagles will be without Lane Johnson for the first four weeks of the season as their starting right tackle violated the league’s policy against performance-enhancing drugs, according to Paul Domowitch.
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Johnson was the team’s first round pick last year and the first draft pick of the Chip Kelly era when the former Oklahoma Sooners left tackle was taken with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft.
The 6-6, 202-pound offensive lineman started all 16 games as a rookie last season and is one of the bright spots on an Eagles line that opened up holes for LeSean McCoy and protected Nick Foles and gave him a clean pocket with which to thrive in Kelly’s high-octane offense.
Johnson will miss the team’s games vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts, Washington Redskins and San Francisco 49er. He will be eligible to return for the Oct. 5 games against the St. Louis Rams.
In a division that has seen the division decided more often than not in the final week of the season, the loss of one of the top young tackles in the game for the first month could be the difference for the rest of the NFC East to narrow the gap on last year’s division champ and could be the difference between the Eagles winning the division for a second straight year.
Johnson’s failed test is clearly a sign of poor decision making and a selfish one at that as he not only damages his reputation, but also crushes his teammates and lost the trust he had from the coaching staff, front office and the fans of the Eagles.