On Tuesday afternoon, news broke that Philadelphia Eagles' right tackle Lane Johnson is reportedly facing a 10-game suspension for another positive test for performance enhancing drugs.
Johnson reportedly is appealing the suspension, but if the punishment holds up, the consequences for the team's offense will be significant.
Johnson's absence robs the Birds of their best offensive lineman. The former first-round pick is one of the game's premier young offensive tackles and is looked upon as Jason Peters' eventual heir at left tackle.
Losing Johnson for the majority of the season puts an already thin offense at a great disadvantage. The last time the offensive line was dealt a blow of this magnitude before the season began was in the 2012 season when Peters suffered a torn Achilles before the year began, forcing the team to go with King Dunlap at the left tackle spot for the majority of the season.
Even when Johnson does return to the lineup following the 10-game suspension, it will still take time for him to work himself into game shape. He won't be allowed to practice with the team during the suspension, meaning that he'll essentially be beginning his training camp all over again more than halfway into the season.
Dennis Kelly or Matt Tobin would likely be the team's first in-house options to replace Johnson, although rookie fifth-rounder Halapoulivaati Vaitai could also potentially figure into the mix.
Kelly and Tobin have been largely unimpressive throughout their NFL careers. Kelly looked somewhat serviceable when called upon to start a few games for Peters last year, but ultimately is not a guy that an NFL team would want to rely on for 10 games. Tobin has disappointed despite having multiple opportunities over the last few years to prove himself as a starter on the team's offensive line.
Vaitai has great size, but may be too raw of a prospect to be counted on to contribute this season.
Depth becomes an even bigger concern for the offensive line given the health concerns of Peters. The Pro-Bowler struggled to stay on the field last season, and with another year of wear and tear on his body, it's very hard to imagine the left tackle staying healthy for the full season.
So in all likelihood, the Eagles could be looking at multiple games in which both Kelly and Tobin are the tackles. That's a pretty scary proposition for an offense that already has question marks and concerns throughout the starting lineup.
If the line struggles to generate any push up front, or becomes a liability in pass protection, the Eagles will have a lot trouble putting together quality drives that lead to points. The Birds hope that Sam Bradford will perform well enough during the season to build up some trade value, and it will be much harder for him to do so while missing his best form of protection.
This is a team that already had a mediocre quarterback throwing to a mediocre group of wide receivers that was complimented by a mediocre stable of running backs. The offensive line was supposed to be the offense's greatest asset, and if that group also sinks to a mediocre level, this is an offense that could regularly be held to less than 21 points per game.
Denny Basens is a staff writer for Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @DennyBasens.
