Opportunity Could Finally Be Knocking For Eagles Veteran Pass Rusher
PHILADELPHIA – It’s hard to remember that Patrick Johnson was a sack machine during his time at Tulane, collecting double-digit sacks in two of his four years there - 10.5 in 2018 and 10 in 2020, his senior season, and finished with 24.5 in his career.
Heck, it may even have been hard to remember that Patrick Johnson is still in the league until he showed out in the Eagles’ loss to the Giants last week, when he played 22 snaps at outside linebacker/edge rusher and collected his first career sack. Johnson is a study in patience and perseverance.
“I’m somebody that I don’t take no for an answer,” he said. “I know I belong here and I know that if I were to retire early without staying through it, push through it, I know that would eat me up inside.”
He entered the league as a seventh-round pick in 2021 and has kept pushing, improving, and never giving up while waiting – no, hoping – his opportunity would come someday. Maybe, it’s now.
“That’s why I respect him so much, because the hustle hasn’t stopped,” said left tackle Jordan Mailata. “He’s been here four years, but the hustle has been consistent.”
Johnson spent his first three seasons with the Eagles. He made plays in the preseason, but when each season began, he found himself without much of a role on defense, though he did play well on special teams.
Patrick Johnson's Desire Never Wavered
The most snaps he played in three seasons before the New York Giants claimed him after his release at the end of the 2024 summer were 55 in a meaningless regular-season finale against the Cowboys. He played 29 in another meaningless finale in 2022 and as a rookie in Week 3 and 28.
It hasn’t been much. Yet, Johnson never relented, never stopped believing that his opportunity would come.
“I tell people all the time, everybody wants to be able to pop off early, meaning, like, have a quick start to their career in terms of a lot of success, but if you look at some guys all around the league, their career really takes off Year 5, Year 6, then they turn around and play for five or more six years,” he said. “Hopefully that’s gonna be my story. Hopefully this is just the start for me. I know I can play in this league a long time. Definitely hoping I will.”
The Eagles are light on the edge, with Nolan Smith expected to miss at least the next two games after being put on injured reserve after Week 3, Ogbo Okoronkwo joining him on IR without any expectation that he will return, and Za’Darius Smith retired.
“I know I can make several plays and I feel I can showcase that week in and week out and I know I will,” said Johnson. “That’s why I’m excited about this week – go make some more play if that’s TFLs, sacks, special team plays, whatever it is I’m gonna do that.”
Johnson said his desire to keep going has never wavered, and, as a seventh-round pick, that’s not easy. Moro Ojomo was a seventh-round pick, too, and he’s getting his best opportunity to play a high volume of snaps in his third season.
“If you're real with yourself, you're trying to make the roster that number one,” said Ojomo. “Anytime you get an opportunity, you have to show up, and you kind of just want to be a relentless guy that's always showing up. It’s always hard knowing that just that every day could be your last time.”
Johnson said he was inspired to always keep pushing by players such as Brandon Graham and Derek Barnett. He gave more credit to his position coach Jeremiah Washburn.
“He’s been my guy since I’ve been here, working with him since Year 2,” he said. “He's the main reason why I came back (in free agency this offseason) because he told me, ‘Pat, you’re a freaking player. I believe in you, people in this building believe in you, so just keep going on, keep on, keep on, and keep on. Push through it and your time is gonna come and you’re going to make the most out of it,’ and that’s what I’m hoping to do.”
Vikings QB Carson Wentz Primed for ‘Revenge Game’ in Week 7
There is one specific storyline that’s going to come up whenever any NFL team faces one of its old starting quarterbacks. One part of that formula is we can usually ratchet up that attention the higher the draft pick.
While some of that luster may have been lost for a variety of reasons, when the Minnesota Vikings host the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in Week 7, they’ll do so with Carson Wentz starting at quarterback in place of injured 2024 first round pick J.J. McCarthy.
That’s notable because Wentz, once upon a time, was the player the Eagles pinned all of their franchise hopes and dreams on.
To recap: Philadelphia drafted Wentz No. 2 overall out of North Dakota State in the 2016 NFL draft, watched him earn NFL All-Pro honors and win a Super Bowl in his second season and signed him to a 4-year, $128 million contract extension before the 2019 season.
To say Wentz doesn’t have extra motivation against the team he used to play for and the player who ultimately took his spot in quarterback and reigning Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts would be to simply deny the human condition.
No matter what anyone on either side might say, it matters.
There was some speculation McCarthy might return for the Vikings after missing the last 4 games due to an ankle injury until head coach Kevin O’Connell announced Wentz would make his fourth consecutive start.
“The Carson Wentz revenge game is officially on,” NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo wrote on his official X account on October 17. “Kevin O’Connell announces Wentz will start for the Vikings against the Eagles.”
‘Revenge’ Narrative Not Really What It Seems
This isn’t the first time Wentz has faced his old team. In his only other time facing the Eagles, Wentz started for the Washington Commanders in a 24-8 loss in 2022 in which he was largely ineffective, going 25-of-43 passing for 211 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions.
No matter how media types might want to spin it, sometimes a “revenge” narrative might not always be what it seems — something Eagles Pin Pull podcast host Shane Haff astutely pointed out is the case with Wentz.
“Hard to call it a revenge game when the team benched you while you were playing terribly and then acquiesced to your trade request in the offseason, trading you to the coach you wanted to play for,” Haff wrote on his official X account on October 17. “The Eagles didn’t do wrong by Carson Wentz. Every time a player plays a former team we don’t have to call it a ‘revenge’ game.”
Wentz Made NFL History in 2025
Wentz made NFL history when he started for the Vikings in Week 3 against the Cincinnati Bengals, becoming the first quarterback to start for 6 different teams in 6 consecutive seasons.
Wentz started 12 games for the Eagles in 2020, 17 games for the Indianapolis Colts in 2021, 7 games for the Commanders in 2022, 1 game for the Los Angeles Rams in 2023 and 1 game for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2024.
“If he starts for the Vikings this weekend, Carson Wentz would become the first quarterback in NFL history to start at least one game for six different teams in six consecutive seasons,” ESPN’s Bill Barnwell wrote on his official X account on September 15.
