As Eagles head coach Doug Pederson rattled off the list of his injured players on Monday afternoon, he said right tackle Lane Johnson suffered a hyper-extended right elbow.
“Lane’s is probably the more significant but he’ll be fine,” Pederson said. “He’ll be a little limited Wednesday, but he’ll be good for the game.”
Unless he isn’t good for the game.
Johnson on Sunday night said he is expecting to hear a verdict this week on his appeal of a 10-game PED suspension (see story). So there’s a chance that even if he’s healthy enough to play, Johnson will be out for quite a while.
Pederson relied on his usual refrain, saying Johnson is the Eagles’ starting right tackle until he hears something definitive from the league. Then he hinted on which way he’s leaning after the suspension takes hold.
“If Lane is limited due to his injury on Wednesday, then, as I mentioned before, we’ll probably have [rookie Halapoulavaati Vaitai] step up and get some reps this week, particularly maybe on Wednesday,” Pederson said.
Last week, the head coach revealed that he’s been thinking of using Vaitai to replace Johnson once the suspension takes hold. Before then, the plan had always been to move Allen Barbre from left guard to right tackle and then replace him with Stefen Wisniewski or Isaac Seumalo.
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If the Eagles can get by with replacing Johnson with Vaitai, then they would have to disrupt just one position instead of two.
It appears the Eagles came out of Sunday’s game relatively healthy. Cornerback Leodis McKelvin, who returned from a hamstring injury, had trouble with the hamstring again during the game. Pederson said it “got a little tight ... and sore on him.” McKelvin will be held out of practice Wednesday, but he should be able to play on Sunday in Washington.
Linebacker/special teamer Bryan Braman (left AC sprain) will also miss Wednesday’s practice but is expected to play in the game.
Fletcher Cox (ankle) and Dorial Green-Beckham (knee) should be fine to practice Wednesday, Pederson said.