Birds Re-Sign OT

Less than 24 hours after releasing Fred Johnson, the Eagles have re-signed him and given him a better deal.

The team announced Thursday that Johnson, who spent his first three seasons with the Bengals, re-signed two a two-year deal.

Johnson, who joined the Eagles’ practice squad last November and signed a futures deal, had recently been working on the second team at left tackle, backing up Jordan Mailata, which made his release Wednesday somewhat surprising.

GETTY IMAGES: Eagles OT Fred Johnson’s rise at training camp earned him a new, two-year deal.

Turns out, the transaction was purely procedural – explained on the latest Inside The Birds podcast – as the team and Johnson worked out a two-year deal that assures the 26-year-old lineman will be on the team’s 53-man roster in 2023.

Johnson’s ascent to second-team left tackle came as the Eagles looked to replace Andre Dillard, a 2019 first-round pick who had been the team’s reserve left tackle the past two seasons. Inside The Birds reported on Monday that Johnson’s performance this summer had locked him into a spot on the 53.

Other candidates were rookie, third-round pick Tyler Steen – who’s been inconsistent in camp and has also worked at backup right guard – and veteran Brett Toth, who hasn’t really played left tackle.

The 6-foot-7, 326-pound Johnson product played 28 games for the Bengals from 2019-2021 and last year played five games for the Buccaneers.  He has eight career starts since going undrafted out of Florida and signing with the Steelers as a rookie free agent.

In 2020, Johnson started six games for the Bengals at a variety of spots, with three starts at left tackle, two at right guard, and one at right tackle. That year, he played 46% of the offense.

– Geoff Mosher (@geoffmoshernfl) is co-host of the “Inside the Birds” podcast and staff writer for InsideTheBirds.com.

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