By the time Doug Pederson’s press conference kicked off at about 2:08 p.m. on Monday afternoon, he hadn’t yet seen Lane Johnson, who returned to the building after serving his 10-game suspension.
 
Without seeing Johnson, Pederson had no idea what kind of shape the veteran is in after spending over two months away from the team.
 
It doesn’t matter either.
 
Because without knowing anything about Johnson’s condition, Pederson already made up his mind: Johnson will start at right tackle in three days when the Eagles host the Giants.
 
“Well, I know something,” Pederson said. “That Isaac [Seumalo is] hurt and [Halapoulivaati Vaitai] is coming off a knee injury and Allen Barbre’s injured. So what else do I have left? You know what I mean?
 
“I’m just going, ‘Lane you’re the guy.’ I don’t care if you’re x weight. You gotta play. Listen, Lane, I’m sure … he’s an athlete. I’m sure he worked out and kept himself in shape and stayed relatively around … he was around 318, 319 when he left us. Expect to see him around that weight, I guess, later today. With the injury situation, you gotta go.”
 
Pederson cited the Eagles’ injury status on the offensive line as the main reason why he’s not hesitating to throw Johnson back into the fire on Thursday night. Barbre has a hamstring injury. Seumalo suffered a high ankle sprain on Sunday. And Vaitai is coming off a significant MCL sprain.
 
While all three might be able to play on Thursday, a healthy – and rested – Johnson is the best bet, according to Pederson.
 
Johnson, 26, hasn’t played since the Lions game on Oct. 9. After that game, his 10-game suspension for a second failed PED test kicked in. In the locker room at Ford Field after the loss to the Lions, Johnson said he hoped the Eagles would be able to keep afloat in his absence. He hoped he would return for the final two games and help the team push toward the playoffs.
 
Instead, he’ll play in two meaningless games for a team that was officially eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday without him.
 
The Eagles were 3-1 through the first four games with Johnson and have gone 2-8 in his absence. Rookie Vaitai filled in for him at right tackle for the first six games of the suspension before spraining his MCL. Then Allen Barbre played until he hurt his hamstring. Matt Tobin finished the Washington game, when he hurt his knee and landed on IR. And Seumalo started on Sunday.
 
With Johnson back, it’s possible that Barbre will take back his old post at left guard, although Pederson wouldn’t commit to it yet because he wants to see if Barbre is 100 percent. If he is back at left guard, the Eagles would finally have their opening day offensive line back together.
 
That includes Johnson, who was playing at a Pro Bowl level before the suspension. The team clearly missed him while he was gone.
 
Is Johnson at any more risk of injury having not played in over two months?
 
“It’s possible,” Pederson said. “Just have to see when I put my eyes on Lane, just to see where he’s at physically and what he’s been doing over the last 10 weeks. But he’s such a tremendous athlete, that I wouldn’t expect anything too traumatic to happen in the next couple of weeks. But obviously, it is possible.”