With Lane Johnson officially walking away from the Philadelphia Eagles and the game of football this week, the team truly needs to have a next-man-up mentality on the offensive line.
While the Eagles know that they don’t have a tackle in the building who can immediately replace what Johnson brought to the table, they are going to have to apply instant pressure to somebody they have on board.
Former Eagles center Jason Kelce is confident that guy will be Markel Bell.
Ex-NFL Star Jason Kelce Sends 5-Word Message To Eagles Rookie
On the latest episode of New Heights, Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce reacted to the Lane Johnson retirement news.
After discussing his thoughts on Johnson, Kelce pivoted to the Eagles rookie, Markel Bell, who has a good chance of replacing Johnson for the rest of the season. It started with a to-the-point five-word message.
“It’s time to go, Bubba,” Kelce said, regarding Bell.
Then, the former center expanded on his thoughts.
“I mean, you’re going to get put in there. You’ve been able to learn from Lane a little bit. Chris Kuper, the offensive line coach, has been teaching you all preseason up until this point. It’s going to be a bummer for me not being able to watch Lane do what he does and dominate the way he is. He was still dominating.”
A red shirt year, with an opportunity to learn from one of the best tackles the game has seen, with potentially a few snaps here and there, was initially expected for Bell’s rookie year.
Suddenly, he’s getting thrown into the fire. The 22-year-old just joined the Eagles as a third-round pick out of the University of Miami. After a strong training camp, Bell seems to be the logical option to replace Johnson moving forward.
The good news is that the Eagles rookie could probably still use Johnson and even Kelce as a resource if he needs to. However, Bell’s development is hitting a fast track.