Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson announced his retirement Tuesday after 14 seasons with the team, including two Super Bowl victories, saying he wants to focus on his mental health and spend more time with his family.
“At this time, I have made the incredibly difficult decision to retire from the National Football League,” Johnson wrote in a statement posted on X. “Thank you.”
He said he wanted to play one more year, but shifting priorities convinced him to leave early.
“I deeply wanted to gut it out for one more year; to take the field with my brothers for one last season,” Johnson wrote. “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, 36, spent his entire career in Philadelphia after the Eagles drafted him fourth overall in 2013. He started 171 regular-season games and 15 more in the postseason, earned six Pro Bowl selections and five Associated Press All-Pro honors, including first-team recognition in 2017 and 2022.
He was the right tackle on the lines that won Super Bowl LII and Super Bowl LIX. The first was a 41–33 victory over the New England Patriots in February 2018.
The second was a 40–22 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in February 2025 after a season in which the line blocked for Saquon Barkley’s record rushing year.
Johnson thanked the team’s chairman and CEO, Jeffrey Lurie, for taking “a kid from small-town East Texas,” and added that riding up Broad Street as a world champion twice “was the ultimate privilege.”
He said that “Philadelphia will always be home, and I will forever be an Eagle.”
In a post on X, Lurie said 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.”
Lurie said there is “no doubt in my mind that one day he will be named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.”
He credited Johnson’s charity work and said the courage Johnson showed “using his own personal experiences to advocate for mental health awareness has undoubtedly saved lives.”
“We appreciate everything Lane has contributed to our organization, and we wish him and his family nothing but the best.”
Johnson’s retirement cuts short a contract that covered the rest of this season and 2027.
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