Rookie and third-round draft pick Markel Bell had his role with the Philadelphia Eagles suddenly change after starting right tackle Lane Johnson confirmed earlier this week that he had decided to retire, effective immediately.
While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Bell noted that Johnson had shared “a lot of wisdom” over the handful of months the two spent together as teammates.
Markel Bell trying to not “make the game bigger than it is”
“The one thing I’ll take from (Johnson), one thing he always said was, ‘Don’t make the game bigger than it is.’ I feel like, in the NFL, people make it bigger than it is,” Bell explained, per Johnny McGonigal of MassLive. “At the end of the day, I’ve got to go out there and do my job. Now that he’s gone, I’m full-time the man for the job.”
Bell received an unexpected start for what became the Eagles’ 24-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Oct. 4. He was credited with surrendering six pressures and three sacks in that defeat, but McGonigal mentioned that Bell also “flashed in the run game” and “showed a lot of promise” against a team expected to emerge as a Super Bowl contender.
Bell will now serve as Johnson’s successor until further notice.
“Time waits for no man,” Bell acknowledged. “I’ve just got to step up. Seize the opportunity that I’ve got.”
Markel Bell wasn’t prepared for the Lane Johnson news
Bell is now part of what will be a new-look Philadelphia offensive line after the club traded Cam Jurgens to the Baltimore Ravens on Wednesday via a move that Eagles general manager Howie Roseman insisted was a “win-win” for everybody involved.
Meanwhile, Bell revealed that he was napping when his phone started “blowing up” due to the Johnson retirement news.
“Everybody was just texting me saying that Lane was retiring,” Bell said. “I was shocked at first. I didn’t know how to react. I honestly thought I was getting pranked.”
Bell’s place on the Eagles’ offensive line will be no joking matter when 2-2 Philadelphia faces the 3-1 Jacksonville Jaguars in London this coming Sunday. As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Eagles as seven-point underdogs for that game.
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