The Philadelphia Eagles are getting healthy at the perfect time with tackle Lane Johnson returning to practice this week ahead of a wildcard round matchup with the San Francisco 49ers. Still, there is slight cause for concern when realizing it has been nearly two months since Johnson was on a football field playing meaningful snaps. The tackle suffered a Lisfranc foot injury that has kept him on the shelf since the middle of November. With this in mind, there should be a level of concern over how well Johnson will be able to play.
The Philadelphia Inquirer's Jeff McLane pointed out that "Johnson was having another Pro Bowl-caliber season despite missing time in several games because of various injuries. The Eagles went 3-4 in the 7 games he sat out because of the foot injury, and are now 18-28 in games he hasn’t played during his 13-year career." This is telling when it comes to the lineman's impact and why fans are so excited for the return of the starter. Still, none of this covers the difficulty of coming off a nearly two-month layoff and stepping into the intensity of a playoff game.
San Francisco's defensive coordinator, Robert Saleh, will unquestionably test Johnson early in this one to see just how close to healthy the tackle might be. The good news for Philadelphia is the fact that the 49ers' defense is incredibly injury-plagued; the pass rush simply doesn't have any one player who is going to scare Philadelphia's offensive line heading into the game.
Eagles Can't Help but Wonder What Version of Lane Johnson will Show Up After Long Layoff
Furthering this is the fact that San Francisco made the playoffs despite having the worst pass rush in the league. The 49ers finished the 2025 season with only 20 sacks, which was by far the league's worst total. Even the hapless New York Jets managed to finish with 26 sacks despite being the second-worst unit in the league. Looking at the next team, the Baltimore Ravens finished with 30 sacks, a full 10 above what San Francisco was able to offer despite making the playoffs.
This sets up Johnson's return to the lineup with the perfect test, understanding that if the tackle can't hold up against the pass-rush challenged 49ers, he clearly doesn't need to be on the field. As impossible as it might be to believe that this could be the case for the tackle, there is a reason why Philly has kept him sidelined over the last weeks of the season.
Eagles fans need to see Johnson on the field and have proof that his level of play matches the incredibly high standard he has established. Otherwise, the franchise is in trouble and has little they can rely on in the way of secondary options, making Johnson's first snaps of the game ones that will be incredibly important to keep a close eye on.