Who knew Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson would look so good as a blonde.
Johnson showed up to practice on Friday sporting a new hair-do, which was odd, seeing as he didn't have any hair at all the previous day. Needless to say, everybody at the NovaCare Complex was shocked to learn that was actually a long, blonde wig under Johnson's helmet, and not a gorgeous set of golden flowing locks he grew overnight.
"I knew it would pop out because there's nothing blonde about me," Johnson said. "There were choices -- black, brown and blonde, so I chose the blonde wig."
Johnson added he was going for an "Amazon" look, but Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland was not a fan. The wig was discarded early in practice and not seen again for the rest of the day.
"I thought it made me look more like a bad ass, but I guess coach didn't like it," Johnson said.
"I could've left it on, but he said it was distracting him a little bit, so I took it off. Plus, it was itching a little bit."
While it was only the second day of full-team practices at Eagles training camp, Johnson felt the team could use a morale boost.
Philadelphia Eagles
Complete coverage of the Philadelphia Eagles and their NFL rivals from NBC Sports Philadelphia.
"I just want to have a little fun," Johnson said. "It's training camp. Everybody thinks it's going to be hard, tough, and everybody's dreading it, so I tried to create a few laughs."
Though Johnson seemed to have a solid reason for the gag, he was quick to throw Eagles center Jason Kelce under the bus when asked how he arrived at the decision to wear the wig.
"I just thought about doing it, and I asked Kelce what he thought of it, and he suggested I do it," Johnson said.
Kelce laughed, then offered a slightly differing account of events, denying any responsibility for Johnson's decision.
"My involvement was just laughing hysterically at it," Kelce said. "He had it on and he said he was going to wear it out to practice, and we all just started laughing. Then we actually saw him out here with it on. We wanted him to keep it on all practice."
Kelce added, "That's just Lane Johnson being Lane Johnson."
With training camps opening all across the NFL, the intensity certainly ramps up this time of year. Of course, camps aren't what they used to be, with less hitting, shorter practices and no two-a-days, so veteran players often have a lot more leeway to act silly and create some levity.
"It's such a serious game, and sometimes you lose the human aspect of it, so you come out here and realize these are some of your best friends, and let's have a little fun while we're playing," Johnson said.
Johnson's teammates seemed to appreciate that attitude -- perhaps this time of year more than any other.
"It's the little things in camp," Kelce said. "Guys doing stuff like that kind of breaks up the monotony, allows guys to have fun, lightens the mood.
"At the end of the day, we're still here working hard, but little things like that make it even more fun."
