The Philadelphia Eagles have made changes to their offensive line ahead of the 53-man roster cutdown. The team has agreed to acquire veteran tackle Fred Johnson from the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for a 2026 seventh-round draft pick. In another move, the Eagles are sending tackle and guard Darian Kinnard to the Green Bay Packers in return for a 2027 sixth-round draft pick.
Fred Johnson, who stands at 6-foot-7 and weighs 326 pounds, brings experience at both tackle positions. He was previously with the Eagles during the 2022 season as a practice squad member and later signed a two-year contract before the start of the 2023 campaign.
“The Eagles’ investment in Johnson paid off during the Super Bowl LIX-winning campaign. In the Week 3 win at New Orleans, Johnson entered the game for an injured Lane Johnson at right tackle and helped gash the Saints’ defensive line as Saquon Barkley rushed for 147 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns. Coming out of the Week 5 bye, Fred Johnson was needed to start at left tackle for an injured Jordan Mailata. As the Eagles kicked off the longest win streak in franchise history (10 games), Johnson started at left tackle for the first four of those contests. In the Week 8 win over Cincinnati, Johnson allowed just one pressure against 2024 NFL sack leader Trey Hendrickson and the Bengals.”
Johnson played in all regular-season and playoff games over two seasons with six starts—five at left tackle and one at right tackle—logging about 42 percent of offensive snaps last year. After signing with Jacksonville this offseason, he returns to Philadelphia following earlier stints with Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Tampa Bay, and his initial period with Philadelphia.
Darian Kinnard contributed depth on Philadelphia’s offensive line during their third consecutive Super Bowl-winning season in 2024. He appeared in two games that year, starting once against New York Giants.
Kinnard entered professional football as a fifth-round selection by Kansas City in 2022 after playing college football at Kentucky. His rookie season included one game appearance before spending his second year on Kansas City’s practice squad. He joined Philadelphia on a reserve/future contract during this past offseason after showing promise during training camp and preseason action.
In preseason play this year, Kinnard participated in nearly one hundred snaps on offense while rotating between right guard and right tackle positions.
Alongside these trades, Philadelphia is making additional moves as it approaches Tuesday’s deadline: acquiring quarterback Sam Howell; waiving/injured defensive back Lewis Cine; and waiving quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
