Getty Images

The Eagles may have some explaining to do to the league office.

Lane Johnson has a high ankle sprain. He was limited in practice through Tuesday, and he fully participated on Wednesday. The Eagles did not give Johnson an injury designation when filing their final injury report on Wednesday.

Then came Thursday morning, and the Eagles suddenly decided to supplement the report by listing Johnson as questionable. Multiple reporters have characterized Johnson’s status as a toss up, with a very real possibility that he won’t play.

So why wasn’t he listed as questionable in the first place? The revision to the policy from earlier in the decade ditched the “probable” label but expanded “questionable” to encompass anything less than 100 percent down to 50-50. The notion that there would be no doubt that Johnson would play on Wednesday becoming real doubt that he’ll miss the game a day later to, possibly, Johnson not playing would likely result in the NFL taking a closer look at whether the Eagles violated the injury reporting policy.

Obviously, this is about more than whether the Giants had fair notice that Johnson won’t play. Betting is legal in multiple states. Bets were placed on Wednesday in reliance on the accuracy of the injury report. More importantly, some bettors may have known that Johnson was no sure thing to play, contrary to the clear message sent by the injury report.

It seems that the league in recent years has become more lax regarding the injury reporting policy. If anything, the league should be tightening things up. And Philadelphia’s handling of Lane Johnson’s situation, whatever the intent, should at a minimum invite careful scrutiny as to why Johnson wasn’t listed as questionable on Wednesday.