Now that the season's over, Lane Johnson doesn't have to put it off anymore.
He'll have surgery to repair his torn adductor later this week, per ESPN's Adam Schefter, and will have the offseason – albeit a short one – to recover.
But as a crucial piece of the Eagles' offensive line, and with the team positioned to make a deep playoff run, he made the call to delay surgery after consulting with numerous experts so that he could be available for the postseason.
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"There's few times where you see a team, where you're on a team, that you know has a chance to win it all," Johnson last month ahead of the divisional playoff game against the Giants. "I could see that throughout the season. The timing of the injury wasn't great, but one of the reasons for coming back was because I feel like we have a chance to be something special."
They nearly pulled it off.
Somehow, Johnson stepped back in and never missed a beat, allowing no sacks or even QB hits to the Giants or the 49ers in the playoffs.
He even said he felt more comfortable playing with the injury over time, thanks in part to the added rest between the first-round bye and the extra week off ahead of the Super Bowl plus getting over that initial shock of taking contact again.
In the Super Bowl against the Chiefs on Sunday night, he had the right side locked down once again, surrendering no sacks, QB hits, or even pressures to his assignments while playing 100 percent of the offensive snaps.
Still, the Eagles fell short, losing to Kansas City on a last-second field goal, 38-35, to bring a bitter end to an incredible run, one where Johnson was commonly described as a "warrior" throughout.
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