The Philadelphia Eagles juts lost their first game of the season on Sunday, and now they will play the bulk of the remainder of the season without one of their top offensive linemen. Lane Johnson’s 10-game suspension has been upheld following a review and decision by an arbitrator on Tuesday.
Lane Johnson has been suspended 10 games for violating the NFL policy on performance enhancing substances. pic.twitter.com/WavoiSsgpx
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 11, 2016
Johnson was suspended by NFL for a violation of the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. This is the second time Johnson has been suspended by the league for a PED, and his first strike came in the 2014 season.
Considering this was the second time Johnson has made a poor decision regarding what he is putting in his body, the reaction from the Eagles was not exactly all too sympathetic.
“We’re very disappointed that Lane Johnson has been suspended 10 games,” Eagles vice president of football operations Howie Roseman said in a statement. “His actions have affected the entire organization. We are all working under a clearly-defined set of rules and regulations set forth by the NFL in the collective bargaining agreement with the NFLPA. Moving forward, he has no choice but to hold himself accountable to [Eagles owner] Jeffrey Lurie, Coach [Doug Pederson] and his staff, his teammates, and to the entire organization and our fans.”
Roseman went on to state the entire team will welcome Johnson back once his suspension is over.
While Johnson is suspended, the Eagles will use rookie Halapoulivaati Vaitai to help provide protection for rookie quarterback Carson Wentz. Vaitai was drafted in the fifth round of the NFL Draft out of TCU.
With the suspension beginning immediately, Johnson will be eligible to return to action for the final two regular season games, and any playoff games should the Eagles manage to reach the postseason. The final two games of the regular season could end up being important division games at home, against the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys.
But, in order for those games to have any significance for the Eagles, they will need to get through the next 10 games without falling out of the playoff conversation (Getting off to a 3-1 start has the Eagles legitimately in the division conversation and playoff picture early in the year).
For Johnson, he’ll be missing out on a boatload of cash as a result in addition to missing more than half of the 2016 season.
Lane Johnson stands to lose about $4.75m with his suspension is upheld. Forfeits portions of 2 signing bonuses, '16 base + '16 roster bonus.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) October 11, 2016
Along with losing 10 games worth of base salary, Lane Johnson will pay back 10 games worth of signing bonus for those games, I'm told.
— Geoff Mosher (@GeoffPMosher) October 11, 2016
Lane Johnson signed a five-year, $56M deal with the Eagles in January, 2016 salary is $675,000. Thus, suspension costs "only" $400,000.
— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) October 11, 2016
