Lane Johnson announces retirement after 14 seasons with the Eagles: ‘It’s time to say goodbye to football’
The decorated right tackle was a surprise inactive before the team's Week 4 loss to the Rams due to "personal reasons," and has decided to call it a career.
Lane Johnson, the Eagles’ two-time All-Pro, six-time Pro Bowl right tackle, announced his retirement from the NFL after 14 seasons spent exclusively in Philadelphia on Tuesday afternoon.
The 36-year-old Johnson took to social media to thank the city, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, the Eagles organization, and his teammates. He noted that right now, what’s most important to him is “continuing to focus on my mental health and spending more time with my kids and family.”
“I have given it my all for 14 years, season after season putting my body to the max and tirelessly working my craft to not only live up to the legacy of the guys that came before me, but to set a new standard of success for the best franchise in all of sports,” Johnson wrote in his statement.
“I deeply wanted to gut it out for one more year; to take the field with my brothers for one last season. But after a lot of reflection, I’ve realized that my personal and family priorities in my life have changed. Right now, it is critical that I focus on my mental health. I owe it to my teammates, coaches, the organization and the fans to have my head and heart 100 percent in the game. And right now my heart is telling me that it’s time to say goodbye to football.”
Johnson was a surprise inactive before Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams due to a personal matter. During training camp, he missed four practices for a personal matter, too. After returning to camp, he said that this season was “probably” going to be his last.
He cited his children and his aging parents as factors in his likely decision at the time, too.
“Those priorities away from football are starting to merge,” Johnson said at the time. “Not that I don’t enjoy [football], I love everything about this game and preparing for it. But that’s kind of where I’m at in my career.”
Johnson has been a mental health advocate during his career. In 2021, Johnson missed three games while dealing with depression and anxiety. In a statement released on Tuesday, Lurie lauded the courage Johnson has shown “using his own personal experiences to advocate for mental health awareness,” stating that he has “undoubtedly saved lives.”
Lurie also acknowledged Johnson’s impact on the field, calling him an “all-time Eagle” and “one of the best players to ever play his position in NFL history.”
“Lane excelled under multiple coaching staffs, maintaining an elite level of play throughout his entire career,” Lurie said in the statement. “His combination of talent, strength, athleticism, and intelligence made him a truly unique player in this league, and there is no doubt in my mind that one day he will be named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.”
Johnson, a stalwart for the Eagles at right tackle for nearly a decade and a half, won two Super Bowls with the team and started in 171 regular-season games, which ranks eighth in franchise history and second among offensive linemen behind Jason Kelce (193).
He played in 15 playoff games, which ranks seventh in franchise history. His 14 seasons of service with the Eagles are tied for second with Chuck Bednarik, trailing only Brandon Graham’s 16 seasons.
Johnson played through a number of physical injuries throughout his career, culminating last season with a Lisfranc foot injury that limited him to just 10 games. Over the summer, Johnson said he “didn’t want to go out that way,” prompting his decision to return to the team for one final season.
He acknowledged that he still loved the game. He also said he felt like while some offensive linemen begin to decline in their 30s, his career started to blossom. The stats backed up the eye test — according to Pro Football Focus, Johnson had conceded just seven pressures on 449 pass-blocking snaps last season, and he had given up two on 181 such snaps this season.
General manager Howie Roseman selected Johnson No. 4 overall in the 2013 draft out of Oklahoma. He earned the starting right tackle job out of training camp that season and never relinquished it for over 13 years.
With Johnson announcing his retirement, the Eagles will likely turn to Markel Bell, the third-round rookie out of Miami, to take his place at right tackle. When he was drafted, it appeared as if the Eagles had identified Johnson’s prospective heir apparent, although at the time, his retirement wasn’t seemingly imminent.
Bell, who is 6-foot-9, 346 pounds, made his first career start on Sunday at right tackle against the Rams. Part of Johnson’s legacy in Philadelphia will be his willingness to mentor younger players, such as Bell. After Bell was drafted, the rookie tackle expressed his eagerness to learn from a pair of veteran tackles in Johnson and Jordan Mailata.
“I’m just blessed to be in the room with them,” Bell said in the spring. “I’m just excited to get in the room with them and soak up as much as I can.”
