Lane Johnson Returns To Work, But Is This Draft When Eagles Find Future Replacement?

No days off. It’s not just a T-shirt slogan, it’s a way of life, and that’s not just another T-shirt slogan, either.

Not to Lane Johnson. The Eagles right tackle was asked the day before the team’s Super Bowl LIX championship parade how long he would wait before returning to the grind, because, you know this T-shirt slogan, too – the grind never stops – and for Johnson that is very true.

“I just worked out (Wednesday),” he said on the team’s cleanout day four days after the Eagles polished off the Chiefs, 40-22. “It was more just staying in shape just because as an older guy, looking at four or five more years, max, so you want to stay healthy. I’m gonna enjoy this, but take off? I don’t really do that.”

Sure enough, there was Johnson back on the grind in a social media post by the Eagles on Monday.

Already, fellow offensive lineman, Dallas’ guard Zack Martin, has retired. Martin entered the NFL in 2014, a year after Johnson did, doing so as the 16th overall pick of the Cowboys.

In Cleveland, All-Pro guard Joel Bitonio is contemplating retirement. He, too, was a 2014 draft pick, the 35th player taken overall that year.

Johnson, who turns 35 in May, just plays on. He put on his social media account that he is “looking forward to many more years to come,” and shared a video of his championship parade speech. He has two years left on his contract with salary-cap hits of $17.4 million this year and $18.7 in 2026.

With Johnson, though, it will come down to how healthy he can remain over the next few years to come. He has had his battles with them, and the most serious was the tightrope surgery he not once but twice on one of his ankles.

Still, there comes a time to find a replacement, and that time isn't when it becomes necessary, an approach they took when it came time to find the replacement for center Jason Kelce and took Cam Jurgens, and when they drafted Jordan Mailata and Andre Dillard in back-to-back years to replace Jason Peters, who officially retired on Tuesday at 43.

The Eagles need to find a replacement at some point, so will it be in this year's draft? There are some very good offensive linemen in this year’s draft, but it's not a deep collection. They will be the final group to do on-field drills at the NFL Scouting Combine this week, taking the field on Sunday. It will be televised on the NFL Network beginning at 1 p.m.

Some to watch when the Eagles are scheduled to be on the clock with the 32nd pick when the draft begins on April 24 and even on Day 2 when rounds two and three commence include Ohio State's Josh Simmons, Oregon's Josh Conerly, William & Mary's Charles Grant, and Purdue's Marcus Mbow, to name a few.