One of the greatest players in Eagles franchise history has called it a career.

After 14 seasons, Lane Johnson announced his retirement on Tuesday, citing a need to focus on his mental health and his family.

Here are five thoughts on Johnson’s exemplary career, his massive influence on the organization, and what the news means for the team in the short and long term:

1. Lane Johnson is the best player I’ve covered in my eight years reporting on this team.

He was the type of ruthlessly efficient offensive tackle that didn’t always grab your attention on a down-in, down-out fashion, but the consistency with which he singlehandedly erased even the league’s top edge rushers solidified his status as one of the best offensive linemen in modern NFL history.

Johnson went whole seasons without allowing not only sacks, but pressures during his career. And he did so in a way the Eagles built an entire offensive philosophy around. They’d have two of the league’s best offensive tackles, and they’d leave them both isolated on islands in pass protection as a result.

Perhaps that arrangement didn’t get the recognition it deserved throughout Johnson’s career; his five All-Pro honors somehow feel insufficient for the player he was and the impact he had on the game. So did his omission from the NFL’s Top 100 players going into this season (something that didn’t seem lost on him upon his return to training camp a few months ago).

None of this should change what most in Philadelphia already know: Johnson was one of the best players of a generation and belongs in the Hall of Fame.

2. For as superhuman as Johnson was on the field, he was remarkably human off of it in a way that deserves credit.

Johnson has been open about bouts with anxiety and depression throughout his career. He missed three games during the 2021 season because of what the team described as “a personal matter,” and has since done extensive work raising awareness on mental health in the city.

He spent some time away during training camp this summer after an offseason contemplating whether to retire and, as he described once he came back, was struggling with the pull of being with his family as both of his parents battle illness and his kids grow older.

It’s hard to even quantify how valuable it was both inside and outside the Eagles’ locker room for a player so faultless on the field to be so comfortable being vulnerable off of it. In a sport — really, a world — that often deprives athletes of their humanity at the expense of the bottom line, Johnson’s openness should be celebrated.

3. What’s not hard to quantify is Johnson’s impact on the Eagles locker room overall.

All you need to do is look toward the floor as players walk by.

Johnson popularized these toe-spacers in the latter stages of his career. Ever meticulous about his workout regimen, recovery routine and the gadgets that could enhance it (no pun intended), he became synonymous with these little plastic spacers he’d shove between his toes to keep his feet from becoming misfigured by constantly wearing snug cleats.

Plenty of players wear them now, even members of the defensive line like Nolan Smith, because of Johnson’s example. It’s a small thing, but a nod toward the standard he set as one of the most influential members on the team in recent seasons.

4. What does this mean for the Eagles in 2026?

Markel Bell will now get an extended audition to be the heir apparent to one of the greatest players in franchise history. It’s big shoes to fill for the 2026 third-round pick, but those who have been around Bell since the summer have been encouraged by how quickly he’s progressed behind the scenes.

The 6-foot-9, 346-pound lineman has the physical traits to be a starter in the NFL, now he’ll get a chance to make strides to cement a significant role for next season.

This isn’t the typical succession plan the Eagles like to have in place for a player of Johnson’s stature. They drafted Johnson with the idea that he may one day step in for Jason Peters at left tackle only to take a few more, Andre Dillard-sized, bites at that apple before landing on Jordan Mailata. Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens were drafted into the shadow of Jason Kelce, Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter into Fletcher Cox’s wake, etc.

Perhaps Bell can be enough, but the offensive line that starred in the team’s historic Super Bowl run two years ago has quickly fallen apart. Of the starting five linemen in Super Bowl LIX, it’s possible that only Jordan Mailata will remain when the team faces the Jacksonville Jaguars this Sunday and even beyond that depending on whether Cam Jurgens remains a starter for this team long-term.

Especially considering the O-Line’s average age at the time of Super Bowl LIX was just 28 years old, it’s staggering to think about how quickly one of the team’s greatest strengths became a legitimate concern.

5. Would Howie Roseman have approached this offseason differently had he known Johnson wouldn’t play a full season?

Looking at each of the picks the Eagles general manager has made in the last several drafts, it’s hard to pinpoint an exact one as the moment a Johnson successor should have taken precedence. Still, for an organization that prioritizes using premium draft capital on premium positions, the aggregate effect of several years in which the run on offensive tackles happened before the Eagles could get involved now has a tangible cost.

The choice to take first-round rookie Makai Lemon one spot before Steelers right tackle Max Iheanachor may not age well. Scenarios outside of that one aren’t quite as clean.

Developing Bell will make any of them a moot point, but one final word: Rebuilding this offensive line without one of the most proven developers at the position in Jeff Stoutland is going to be a difficult task.