Eagles Bring Back Fred Johnson As Swing Tackle

The Eagles made a mistake last year when they let Fred Johnson leave. It quickly became apparent that they did not have enough depth behind their starting O-Line. They wound up needing to make a trade to bring Fred back. They won't need to do that this year. The Eagles signed Fred Johnson to a 1-year deal, securing the depth at Tackle for another year.

Bringing Johnson back wound up being a great move. In week 3, Lane Johnson left the game vs the Rams early. Matt Pryor closed out the first half, but it was a disaster. They put Johnson in instead to start the second half, and made a massive comeback to win the game.

“What a great trade by Howie to get Fred here,” head coach Nick Sirianni said after that Rams game. “He saw a need for us, what we needed with Fred there, and went out and did the things he needed to do to get him.”

Fred Johnson actually started the final 7 games for the Eagles, and the playoff game last season. Lane Johnson went down with an injury and never returned. Obviously, he was no Lane Johnson, but Fred Johnson gave them solid snaps at RT the rest of the way.

Things may be a bit different this year along the O-Line. All 5 starters are back, but notably, Jeff Stoutland is not. Stoutland coached the Eagles' O-Line going back to the Chip Kelly years. He is the only O-Line coach Lane has known in the NFL.

They will also be without Brett Toth, their primary backup Interior Lineman. Toth signed with the 49ers. But Swing Tackle is one thing they will not need to worry about, at least this off-season.