Best And Worst-Case Scenarios For Eagles’ Lane Johnson

The Philadelphia Eagles were dealt another tough blow on Sunday night against the Detroit Lions.

Philadelphia was able to take down Detroit, 16-9. But, the Eagles did this with Lane Johnson missing most of the game after exiting with a foot injury. When the Eagles announced the injury on Sunday night, they called it a "foot" injury. On Monday, more details came out. Reports surfaced indicating that Johnson suffered a Lisfranc injury that was confirmed to be a sprain by Eagles On SI's John McMullen.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

That's some tough luck for the six-time Pro Bowler. He has been beaten up so far this season, but has appeared in every game so far for Philadelphia. McMullen and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported that this is an injury that could knock Johnson out for four-to-six weeks and could require an Injured Reserve stint, but the belief is that it is not season-ending.

The Eagles got some bad news

Oct 26, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson (65) against the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

"Eagles OT Lane Johnson, one of the game’s best, suffered a Lisfranc sprain Sunday, per me and Mike Garafolo," Rapoport wrote. "He’s out the next 4-6 weeks because of the foot injury, but will seek a second opinion and more tests. This likely lands him on IR, but belief is not season-ending."

With that being said, let's take a look at the best- and worst-case scenarios for Johnson:

Best:
This is pretty obvious. The best-case scenario would be that after seeking a second opinion Johnson doesn't need an Injured Reserve stint. If he goes on the IR, that would require Johnson to miss four games minimum. But, let's take a look at the four-to-six week timeline. Four weeks from Monday is Dec. 15th. If he were to return to the field in four weeks exactly, it would mean that he misses games against the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Chargers, and the Las Vegas Raiders. It would put him back on the field with three games to go with two against the Washington Commanders and one against the Buffalo Bills.

Ideally, the Eagles would have the No. 1 seed in the conference locked up early as well leading to a Week 18 rest for the starters like last year.

The best-case scenario is he needs just four weeks -- or less -- to get back onto the field to then get a little game action in to work off rust and be ready for the players.

Worst:
Let's start by looking at the timeline given. If Johnson missed six weeks, that would put him back on the field on Dec. 29th from Monday. That would leave just one game left on the schedule: Washington in Week 18. The Eagles' offensive line isn't going to be as good without Johnson, obviously. What if they drop a few and aren't secured as the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs? Then, that would make the Week 18 matchup important and then who knows what happens in the playoffs.

It's fortunate that it has been reported that the injury isn't expected to be season-ending. If he misses six weeks and the Eagles are the No. 1 seed and rest starters Week 18, there's a chance that his regular season is over. The worst-case scenario would be that Johnson misses the entire six weeks, or maybe even more if the injury doesn't heal correctly. There isn't a lot of wiggle room right now with the regular season starting to wind down. When the second opinion is announced, we will know much more.

More NFL: AJ Brown’s Message After Eagles' Scrappy Lions Win