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Eagles Welcome Johnson Back To The Offensive Line

By Ed Benkin

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --  If Lane Johnson has any rust to shake off, he'll have little time to do it.

The Eagles right tackle returned to practice on Tuesday after serving his four-game suspension after testing positive for a performance enhancing substance.  While Johnson has been working out during his time away from the team, there is some question as to whether he'll be up to speed by Sunday's game.  Offensive Coordinator Pat Shurmur made it clear what he is expecting from Johnson.

"Put him in there and let him play," said Shurmur.  "He came back and he's in great shape.  He kind of informed us what he was doing because we weren't allowed to have any contact with him.  He did what he could to stay in shape and we'll put him in there and get him going."

Johnson was excited to be back with his teammates when he took the field for practice on Tuesday.  With several of his fellow offensive lineman dealing with injuries, Johnson admitted it wasn't easy watching from Dallas while he continued with his workouts on his own.

"It wasn't fun," Johnson said.  "I was just a bystander.  I texted a few guys and kept track of them.  We're just going to go with the flow and keep it going."

The return of Johnson also allows Todd Herremans to move back to right guard.  Left Tackle Jason Peters believes both men along with the back-ups who have been pressed into action will benefit from having Johnson back on the offensive line.

"It's going to be awesome to have Lane back," said Peters.  "Todd can go back to his natural position.  We're still missing Kelce and Mathis, but the other guys are going to step in and I think they're going to do better this game because we've got Lane back, and it make it solid inside."

The Eagles still won't have Jason Kelce and Evan Mathis back for several weeks, but the return of Johnson clearly provides an upgrade.  Johnson is glad his ordeal is finally over, and knows he will be counted on to try to get the team's struggling ground game going.

"We don't have the running game quite where we want it," Johnson said.  "But the past is the past.  I'm glad to be back, so I'm trying to get back into football shape so I can get back to competing."

Wide receiver Jeremy Maclin did not practice on Tuesday.  The team did not give a reason for why Maclin sat out.  Brandon Boykin and James Casey also did not practice, while Mychal Kendricks remains out with a calf injury.

 

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