Lane Johnson Plans 2026 as Final NFL Season
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Lane Johnson told reporters Saturday that 2026 will likely be his final NFL season, saying off-field priorities are 'starting to merge' and he wanted to go public 'to put [his] mind at ease.'
- Johnson has built a 13-year career featuring six Pro Bowls, two All-Pro First Teams, three All-Pro Second Teams, and two Super Bowl rings with the Eagles (2017 and 2024).
- The 36-year-old Johnson ranked ninth among offensive tackles in CBS Sports' recent position poll and third in ESPN's annual survey of league executives and coaches.
- The Eagles have averaged 0.04 EPA per play with Johnson on the field since 2013 versus -0.05 with him sidelined — a swing equivalent to the gap between the NFL's third-best and 27th-best offense over that span, per TruMedia.
- Philadelphia spent a third-round pick on former Miami Hurricanes tackle Markel Bell as a potential successor; the 6-foot-9, 345-pound rookie would give the Eagles one of the largest tackle duos in the league.
- Johnson was recently named by CBS Sports' Bryan DeArdo as the most likely current Eagle to eventually reach the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Why it matters: Johnson's presence has been worth roughly 0.09 EPA per play to the Eagles — a margin separating a top-three offense from a bottom-five one — so Philadelphia must quickly determine whether rookie Markel Bell can absorb that drop-off before Johnson's likely 2026 farewell tour ends.
Ask SkimNews
