Longtime Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson announced on Saturday that the upcoming NFL season will likely be his final one.
“As you get older, things change in your life, priorities. Your children get older, your parents get older, it just puts things into perspective,” Johnson said. “It’s looking like this is potentially going to be probably my last year just because I am getting to that point. Those priorities away from football are starting to merge. I love everything about this game and am preparing for it, but this is kind of where I’m at in my career.”
Johnson added that he’s already have conversations about what life after football might look like with his loved ones. “I’ve had those conversations with family members, and you can’t play forever. Not everybody can do what LeBron James is doing…But I am 36, so it is weird to say, but all the support, all the love here, and I plan on having a really good last year.”
“It’ll be a fun transition, but as far as my focus here, man, it’s with the Eagles, it’s playing. I still feel I can be a premier tackle in this league. My movement, everything, feels good. I just need to stay healthy and keep stacking days.”
The 36 year old missed the last 4 practices due to personal reasons, which he later revealed to be related to his parent’s health. He has since returned to Eagles’ training camp.
Originally selected 4th overall by Philadelphia in the 2013 NFL Draft, the former Oklahoma Sooner has put together a Hall of Fame worthy career, but remains motivated to try to go out on top in 2026.
A 2x Super Bowl champion, 2x First Team All-Pro, 3x Second Team All-Pro and 6x Pro Bowler, Johnson is about as decorated a tackle as you can think of when it comes to postseason recognitions. The 13 year veteran has spent the entirety of his career with the Eagles, suiting up for 168 games along the way.
Johnson was limited to just 10 games in 2025 due to a nagging Lisfranc injury, but believes he’s at 100% health heading into the 2026 NFL campaign.
Philadelphia will kick off their preseason a week from today against the Baltimore Ravens, before playing the Patriots and Bengals to close out their exhibition schedule. The team will then open their season on September 13th against the Washington Commanders in a 4:25pm ET divisional showdown.
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.