Bringing Back Fred Johnson Is A Sneaky Great Move By Howie

When we talked about concerns in Eagles training camp, 3 positions usually came up. Safety, CB2, and Edge Rusher. But a 4th concern perhaps went under the radar, OL Depth. The Eagles no longer had Fred Johnson to solidify backup tackle, and Tyler Steen becoming a starter left them with few answers as the backup OG. But with one move over the weekend, Howie Roseman fixed at least one of those problems. Fred Johnson is back.

Could they have just re-signed him in the off-season and saved themselves the 7th round pick? Sure. But part of being a great GM is being able to admit your mistakes and correct them. The Eagles restocked their shelves a bit, trading Darrian Kinnard to the Packers for a 2027 6th-round pick.

Letting Johnson walk was a mistake. They hoped that by adding a ton of young tackles during the draft, one of them would step up. None of them showed they are ready to be a backup at this level. Instead of stubbornly sticking to his guns, Howie recognized the problem and brought back the guy he originally let walk.

Johnson signed a 1-year $1.17 million contract with the Jaguars in free agency. A contract at the time, many questioned why the Eagles did not match.

Johnson got some decent playing time last season. Lane Johnson missed parts of the Saints game and all of the Buccaneers game with a concussion. He also filled in for Jordan Mailata when he missed 4 games with a hamstring injury. Was he a star in those games? Perhaps not. But he held down the fort. He even went up against Trey Hendrickson and shut him out.

Johnson and Mailata are going to get beaten up. Between the two of them, you are going to need someone to fill in here and there. Perhaps not for 6 total games like last year, but depth is key to surviving the season. It is also worth noting that the Eagles won a Super Bowl with a backup LT in 2017 when Jason Peters was out.

The Eagles had an issue. Howie recognized that issue and righted a wrong from over the summer. No GM is perfect, but the best ones will admit and fix their mistakes. This move is proof that the new Howie Roseman is more than willing to do just that.

There are still other concerns around the team. Howie actually adressed one of them when he traded for Sam Howell to be the 3rd string QB. They could also use more depth at EDGE, more depth at OG, and they might need a starting Caliber CB2. But with one small move, they fixed one of their bigger problems.