Philadelphia will seemingly have a new swing tackle in 2025.
Fred Johnson is leaving the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency to sign a one-year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars, according to a report from NFL insider Adam Schefter.
Johnson is returning to his home state of Florida, where he played college football for the Gators.
Losing Johnson isn’t ideal since he was a nice swing tackle option for the Eagles as the top backup behind both Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson. The Birds went 5-1 in games started by him last season. Big Fred most notably shut down Trey Hendrickson in the Eagles’ win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
But Johnson was hardly perfect. Pro Football Focus graded him 76th out of 85 tackles and marked him down for eight sacks allowed. In other words, he wasn’t a must-keep player.
Still, the Eagles will need to find a new swing tackle for 2025. If Tyler Steen isn’t already starting at right guard, he might be an option there. Jack Driscoll and Darian Kinnard could also be in the mix.
The team will likely make some external additions to add more competition and depth at tackle. Jedrick Wills could be a name to watch given the Eagles’ wont to sign former first-round picks. The Birds will also likely add at least one offensive lineman in the 2025 NFL Draft.
We’ll see how it shakes out.
For now, here’s wishing Johnson the best with his new team. Perhaps he’ll get more of a chance to compete for playing time than he would’ve had in Philly.
At the very least, he’ll always be a Super Bowl champion.
