March 23, 2026
Colleen Claggett/For PhillyVoice
Fred Johnson (74) was a key veteran backup swing OT who the Eagles need to either bring back or replace.
Backup offensive tackle is one of the most important positions in the NFL, and especially for the Eagles, who have seen their share of injuries at both left and right tackle over the past few seasons.
Last year, the Eagles were without future Hall of Fame RT Lane Johnson for the last seven games of the season and the team's first-round playoff loss as the 35-year-old suffered a Lisfranc injury. In 2024, LT Jordan Mailata missed four games from a hamstring strain that landed him on Injured Reserve.
Fortunately for the Eagles, Fred Johnson has been an above-average fill-in at both spots. The Eagles are 8-4 when Johnson has subbed for injured starters in that two-year span.
The Eagles like to have solid veteran backup tackles who can play both sides. Last offseason, they signed veterans Kendall Lamm and Matt Pryor in free agency to one-year deals, looking to add more versatile backup linemen for depth. Lamm didn't make the team. Pryor struggled when he was asked to replace Lane Johnson in Week 3 against the Rams, which quickly led to Fred Johnson's insertion.
Right now, the Eagles have a bare cupboard at reserve OT. Fred Johnson is a free agent who remains on the market. Pryor has already signed with the Cardinals. Brett Toth, another key reserve on the interior, signed with the 49ers. The only depth behind Johnson and Mailata are two second-year pros who were Eagles sixth-round picks last April – Myles Hinton and Cameron Williams.
Hinton spent much of the season on Injured Reserve and didn't play a single snap. Williams only played in the "resting starters" season finale, and at times looked decent but not nearly ready enough to be the top swing tackle.
Here are the best remaining wide receivers who'd be good fits for the Eagles:
He'd prefer to go somewhere he can compete for a starting job, but Johnson is better suited to be a reserve. Eventually, his warts surface when he has to play several games. His long arms and hulking frame make him good in pass pro but his run blocking isn't great. The new Eagles offense is expected to do a better job marrying the run and play-action pass, so perhaps Johnson doesn't fit the blocking scheme the way he once did, but it's hard to find good backups who have played 79 games, made 22 starts and have six playoff games under their belts. The Eagles should really consider bringing him back if Johnson can't find someone willing to have him compete for a starting job.
The first seven years of Noteboom's career came with the Rams, who drafted him in the third round in 2018. He's a good athlete who ran a sub-5.0 40 at the NFL Scouting Combine. Noteboom started 35 of the 71 games he played for Sean McVay's club. He overlapped one year with new Eagles OC Sean Mannion, a Rams draft pick who played for McVay from 2015-2018. So there's familiarity, with both the OC and the blocking scheme. Noteboom dressed for 10 games last year with the Ravens and started one. He has mostly played the left side in his career but has also played some guard. He makes a lot of sense on a low-cost, one-year deal.
A 2019 sixth-round pick of the Niners, Skule was a backup for Kyle Shanahan who started 12 games in his first two seasons with San Francisco before tearing his ACL in 2021. He spent part of 2022 on Tampa Bay's practice squad and played one game for the Bucs that season. He made their 53-man roster in 2023 and spent the next two years there, starting five games at right tackle. He spent last season with the Vikings, starting nine of 16 games at both left and right tackle. In Minnesota, Skule's position coach was Chris Kuper, who is now the Eagles' OL coach. So there's scheme connection and left-right versatility.
The North Jersey native has spent six seasons in the NFL, the first four with Green Bay and last two with Carolina. He started 22 games with the Packers, at both left and right tackle. Mannion came to the Eagles after two years of coaching under Matt LaFleur in Green Bay, so while Mannion didn't overlap with Nijman, there's obvious scheme familiarity, and the 30-year-old Nijman has shown he can play both sides. Nijman is the quintessential one-year depth signing. (UPDATE: Nevermind, he announced his retirement).
This would only work if Conklin, a two-time All Pro who somehow never made a Pro Bowl, is ready to become a valuable backup at 31 years old and with a long list of injuries during his 10-year career with the Titans and Browns. Conklin has started all 114 games he's played in his career, but he has started just 21 games over the past three seasons and hasn't played a full season since 2019 because of injuries. He'd be a great backup if he's ready for that role. If not, he's looking at an expensive one-year deal to start somewhere and then probably not the right fit for the Eagles.
A fourth-round pick of the Browns in 2021, Hudson spent his first four seasons in Cleveland before signing with the Giants last year. He has started 19 of his 60 career games, playing mostly right tackle but also some left tackle, so he has the ability to play a swing OT role. In Cleveland, he played for Kevin Stefanski, who operates an outside zone-heavy run game, so Hudson should be able to integrate into the new Eagles offense despite no ties to the coaching staff here. Fourth-round picks should have more than 19 starts after five seasons, so there wouldn't be a guarantee that Hudson would make the team.
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