As of about 4:49 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson, 36, has announced his retirement from the NFL. The Eagles’ own website published the announcement and a statement from Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie at 3:58 p.m. ET. In the statement as The Philadelphia Inquirer prints it, Johnson wrote: “Right now, it is critical that I focus on my mental health.”
The announcement
The Eagles’ article says Johnson “announced his retirement from the NFL on Tuesday afternoon, ending a magnificent career with the Eagles that included two Super Bowl victories, three NFC Championships, five Associated Press All-Pro Awards, and six Pro Bowl seasons.”
The Inquirer, in a report by Olivia Reiner published at 4:12 p.m. ET, described him as the Eagles’ “two-time All-Pro, six-time Pro Bowl right tackle” who retired “after 14 seasons.” NFL.com’s wording is slightly different: Johnson announced “on Tuesday that he is retiring from the NFL amid his 14th season in the NFL.” NFL.com also called him “a two-time first-team All-Pro selection.”
According to the Inquirer, he took to social media to thank the city of Philadelphia, Lurie, the Eagles organization and his teammates. The Inquirer also reported that he said what matters most to him right now is “continuing to focus on my mental health and spending more time with my kids and family.”
His statement
The Inquirer printed this passage from Johnson’s statement: “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.”
It printed a second passage as well: “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.”
Separately from the statement, the Inquirer’s own reporting says Johnson “cited his children and his aging parents as factors in his decision.”
What the Eagles’ owner said
Lurie said in the team’s article: “Lane Johnson is an all-time Eagle and one of the best players ever to play his position in NFL history. Lane was a major contributor to our team success for 14 seasons, helping to bring two Super Bowl Championships and many other memorable moments to the organization and the City of Philadelphia.”
He added: “there is no doubt in my mind that one day he will be named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.” On mental health, Lurie said: “The courage he has shown using his own personal experiences to advocate for mental health awareness has undoubtedly saved lives.” He closed with: “We appreciate everything Lane has contributed to our organization, and we wish him and his family nothing but the best.”
What he said earlier
In August, NFL.com reported that Johnson spoke to reporters on a Saturday, a day after he returned to the team following a weeklong excused absence for personal reasons. He said: “As you get older, things change in your life, priorities. Your children get older, parents get older. It just puts things into perspective. It’s looking like it’s potentially going to be probably my last year.”
He added: “Not that I don’t enjoy. I love everything about this game and preparing for it, but that’s kind of where I’m at in my career.” NFL.com wrote at the time: “A final decision will eventually come.”
The Eagles’ article says the retirement “follows Johnson’s announcement in the summer that the 2026 season would be his final one,” and that he cited “family and life balance.”
The absences
Neither the Inquirer nor NFL.com says what the “personal matter” or “personal reason” was, or links it to the retirement. The Eagles’ article calls it “personal reasons.”
The Inquirer reported that Johnson was a surprise inactive before Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams due to a personal matter, and that during training camp he missed four practices for a personal matter. NFL.com described the Sunday absence as one “for what the team called a personal reason.” The Eagles’ article says he started the first three games of the 2026 season, playing 100 percent of the offensive snaps, before missing Sunday’s game against the Rams. NFL.com’s August report of a weeklong excused absence and the Inquirer’s training-camp detail may describe the same absence or different ones; neither outlet says which.
Career numbers
Johnson has been the Eagles’ right tackle since they took him with the No. 4 overall pick in 2013, from Oklahoma, according to the Eagles and NFL.com. The Inquirer called him a “stalwart for the Eagles at right tackle for nearly a decade and a half.”
The honors differ by source. The Eagles count five Associated Press All-Pro Awards, the Inquirer says “two-time All-Pro” and NFL.com says two-time first-team All-Pro. All three give six Pro Bowls. NFL.com says he won two Super Bowl titles and appeared in another. The Eagles’ article lists two Super Bowl victories and three NFC Championships.
The Inquirer said he started in 171 games. In August, NFL.com put his total at 168 starts. The two counts were published about two months apart.
The Eagles also say he was the team’s 2023 nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, and that he recorded three holiday albums with Jason Kelce and Jordan Mailata “to raise millions of dollars for local charities.” The Eagles’ article also says Johnson ranked first among NFL offensive tackles in both pass block grade and pass block win rate before Week 4.
Who replaces him
The Eagles’ article says: “From a football standpoint, the Eagles will now turn to rookie third-round draft pick Markel Bell, who started on Sunday against the Rams and played the entire game against a very good Los Angeles defensive front.” It adds that Bell “is in line to start his second game on Sunday in London against Jacksonville.”
Head coach Nick Sirianni said Monday: “I think Markel did some really good things. … By no means did he play a perfect game, but he did some really good things.” He added: “I thought he was solid.”
What is not known
None of the three reports describes the roster transaction that follows a retirement, such as a reserve or retired-list designation, or any contract or salary-cap treatment. None includes a statement from Johnson’s teammates. NFL.com said “Around The NFL will have more on this news soon.”
What is next for Eagles fans
The Eagles’ next game is a trip to London to play the Jacksonville Jaguars. As reported by Eagles.com in its schedule announcement, the game is Sunday, Oct. 11, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with a 9:30 a.m. ET kickoff on NFL Network.