Lane Johnson Retires Midseason, Leaving Eagles With a Right Tackle Void
Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson announced his retirement from the NFL on Tuesday, ending a 14-season career with the team. The six-time Pro Bowl…
For the Philadelphia Eagles, the loss of a veteran anchor comes during the NFL season. Right tackle Lane Johnson announced his retirement on Tuesday, ending a 14-season career with the team and saying his personal priorities had changed.
Johnson, who was a surprise inactive for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams, said he could no longer give football his full commitment. His decision leaves the 2-2 Eagles adjusting their offensive line, with rookie Markel Bell the most likely candidate to replace him for the rest of the season, according to ESPN.
“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 have changed. Right now it is critical that I focus on my mental health,” Johnson wrote in a statement posted to social media.
He added that he owed his teammates, coaches, the organization and fans his full attention, but his heart was telling him it was time to leave football.
Lane Johnson leaves a major role in Philadelphia
The Eagles did not know until Sunday morning that Johnson would miss the game, ESPN reported. Bell started in his place. Philadelphia must now adapt without a player who had been a fixture on the right side of its offensive line.
The on-field gap is reflected in the team’s record with and without Johnson in the starting lineup. The Eagles were 122-63-1 when he started, compared with 18-30 when he did not play, according to ESPN.
Johnson, 36, was selected fourth overall by Philadelphia out of Oklahoma in 2013. He made the Pro Bowl six times and earned first-team All-Pro honors twice. He also helped the Eagles win two Super Bowl championships, the only two in franchise history.
Team owner Jeffrey Lurie praised Johnson’s consistency across coaching staffs and said he believed the tackle would one day enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Lurie described Johnson’s talent, strength, athleticism and intelligence as a rare combination.
Johnson cited family and mental health
Johnson had considered retirement during the offseason. He missed four training-camp practices for personal reasons and said in August that family life was weighing heavily on his decision. Both of his parents were dealing with health issues, and he said his oldest child was 13.
“It's hard to get time back, especially those years I feel like are very pivotal,” he said in August, explaining why time with his family mattered. He had then described the season as potentially his last, while saying he still loved the game and was preparing to play.
Johnson has also spoken publicly about anxiety and depression, experiences he said dated to his first year of college. He missed three games in the 2021 season while dealing with severe withdrawal symptoms after trying to taper off an antidepressant, alongside the physical and mental strain of an ankle injury.
His openness helped prompt conversations about personal struggles inside the Eagles locker room. Tackle Jordan Mailata said Johnson had helped “open up a pathway” for players to speak about mental health and called him the locker room’s “focal point” on the issue.
Johnson’s retirement comes after he played the first three weeks of the season and then missed the Rams game. His statement said the priority now was to focus on his mental health.
Source: espn.com
