The Philadelphia Eagles have a Hall of Fame-sized hole to fill at right tackle, as Lane Johnson suddenly announced his retirement after 14 seasons and multiple Super Bowl rings. Markel Bell will likely move into his vacated right tackle role.
With Johnson leaving the game sooner than many expected, a player that many believed would be a developmental project over the span of a few years now needs to prove that he can be an immediate difference-maker on a team that has championship aspirations.
Bell is no longer going to be put on ice for the rest of 2026. He will be thrown into the deep end of the pool for a team that is not going to tolerate many mistakes now that Johnson vacated his post. Will he sink or swim?
Markel Bell must step up for Eagles after Lane Johnson retirement
Bell stands a massive 6-foot-9 and over 340 pounds, all whole moving fairly well for someone who has such ridiculous proportions. However, despite his performances in college at Miami, Bell fell to the third round (a place many NFL Draft analysts thought was a bit too high for him anyway) due to a lack of technique.
Bell made his first start in the team's loss against the Los Angeles Rams, and he managed to perform fairly well, given the circumstances. While he deserves some major pats on the back for that showing, it is still just one game against a team that had no advance knowledge of his style of play. Things are going to get tougher.
Losing Jeff Stoutland right before Johnson could be a 1-2 punch that makes life increasingly hard on the Eagles. Losing someone regarded as perhaps the best developer of offensive line talent over the last decade and change means that Bell won't have that proverbial wind at his back. He needs to learn and learn fast.
Philadelphia Eagles tackle Markel Bell needs to develop quickly
Even with the still-effective Johnson, Philadelphia's offensive line has taken a step back from what it was in past seasons. Jordan Mailata isn't playing like an All-Pro, Cam Jurgens has been indisputably poor this season, and Landon Dickerson has been injured. Their biggest bedrock was Johnson, and now he's on his way out the door.
Bell has the power and length to beat just about anybody in the NFL, but with some bad footwork and a lack of the tricks of the trade that Johnson had, he will be a noteworthy downgrade. Live reps may be the best teacher, but they are also great for exposing pain points, of which Bell has many right now.
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If Bell fails to show the Eagles that he can at least be a serviceable starter, it seems more likely than not that one of their top picks in the 2027 NFL Draft will be used on a Johnson replacement. Howie Roseman may be crossing his fingers for Bell showing improvement as 2026 NFL Draft picks Makai Lemon and Eli Stowers try to bounce back from slow starts to the season.
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