If Lane Johnson’s Twitter account is any indication, he’ll make his return to the lineup this weekend for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Johnson tweeted a photo of himself strutting onto the field during pregame introductions on Wednesday night after being a full participant in practice with the Eagles earlier in the day.
Head coach Doug Pederson had said earlier in the day that Johnson remained in the concussion protocol after missing Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks. However, returning to full participation in practice without any recurring concussion symptoms is one of the final hurdles of the protocol.
Per Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network, Johnson has indeed been cleared and will play against the Miami Dolphins this week.
Andre Dillard struggled in his first start at right tackle against the Seahawks last week in place of Johnson. Halapoulivaati Vaitai replaced Dillard in the second half as Johnson’s absence was palpable.
Being without Johnson, running back Jordan Howard and wide receivers Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor was a handicap that Eagles were incapable of overcoming against the Seahawks. While the test presented by the Dolphins this week likely won’t be as stern, the return of Johnson and others will be a massive boost for Carson Wentz and the Eagles offense.