Getty Eagles stars Lane Johnson and Jason Kelce have been teammates on the Philly offensive line since 2013.
The stories about Jason Kelce during his legendary career have reached Paul Bunyan status. He’s a larger-than-life folk hero who embodies football vitality. And people are always looking for a tall tale they haven’t heard before.
Well, here’s a new one from one of his favorite teammates on the Philadelphia Eagles roster. Starting right tackle Lane Johnson spilled the goods on an incident from his rookie year in 2013 when he played a prank on Kelce. It began innocently enough, after Johnson hid Kelce’s helmet during a walkthrough practice, then took an unexpected turn for the worst.
“Chip Kelly’s the coach, we’re doing a walkthrough in the indoor [bubble at NovaCare Complex], and the lineman we’re over there in our own section doing blocking on buckets, you know, looking at different defenses,” Johnson told Rich Eisen. “So, they called to blow the whistle on the walkthrough and I hide his helmet under one of those trash cans, and it takes him about five minutes to find it.
“So he’s throwing ’em, he’s flipping ’em, and coaches are telling him to ‘c’mon, what are you doing?’ and he sees me laughing so he knows I’m the culprit behind it and he runs at me full speed and tries to Pat McAfee punt me in the private area. He misses and hits me in the kneecap and he thinks he breaks his foot, and he leaves practice to get an MRI.”
“I was surprised and then I was very happy.”
Count #FlyEaglesFly @LaneJohnson65 among those fired up for the acquisitions made by his team on Draft night:
Kelce wasn’t seriously hurt, although he sat out the rest of practice with a bruised foot. Now that’s a good story from two guys who went on to become very good friends. Johnson and Kelce are now entering their 10th season together as Eagles teammates.
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Johnson Sounds Off on Rookie Jordan Davis
Johnson was asked about rookie Jordan Davis during his appearance on the Rich Eisen Show. The explosive defensive tackle measures 6-foot-6 and weighs 340 pounds. He’s a mountain of a man, a legitimate freak show. Johnson gently compared him to Aaron Donald, at least in the way offensive tackles need to game-plan for him.
“When we have tough matchups as tackles, you know every now and again we play the Rams and Aaron Donald,” Johnson told Eisen. “We call it just passing the offering plate, kind of like they do in church. When you see guys like that, it’s like, ‘welp, you better be ready on the inside, I gotta worry about my guy in the outside.’ And, really, the only time I’ll be attacking that guy is like on a down block or combination block with a guard, so that’s a good favor for me.”
Training Camp Report Dates Announced
The NFL announced training camp dates for all 32 teams, including when veterans and rookies are expected to report. The Eagles are asking everyone to show up on July 26 at the NovaCare Complex in South Philadelphia.
They are one of 11 teams with the same report date for veterans and rookies, along with the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams, Washington Commanders, Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Denver Broncos, Dallas Cowboys, and Carolina Panthers.
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Eagles All-Pro Reveals Crazy Story on Freak Jason Kelce Injury