Eagles All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson will return for a 14th season with the team, according to a source with knowledge of the future Hall-of-Fame lineman’s plans.
The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane was first to report Johnson’s decision, citing the five-time All-Pro as the source.
Johnson will turn 36 before the start of next season, but is still one of the best tackles in the NFL. The six-time Pro Bowler and two-time Super Bowl champion was sidelined for the second half of last season with a Lisfranc foot injury, giving way to a eight-game stretch that served as the latest example of the Eagles struggling when Johnson is out of the lineup.
The team went 3-5 without Johnson last season and has gone 15-28 in games Johnson has missed since 2016 according to TruMedia. Over that stretch, the Eagles have gone 96-41-1 when Johnson plays. Even just looking since 2021 to avoid a disaster 2020 season in which Johnson was mostly sidelined, the Eagles are 58-20 with Johnson and 7-10 without him.
“You’re talking about a Hall of Fame player who’s been a huge, huge part of any of our success that we’ve had,” Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said when asked about Johnson’s decision in January. “And when you watch him play, he’s still playing at an elite level.”
Johnson’s decision lingered into the early portion of the offseason for a multitude of reasons, but his return became clearer in recent weeks. Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata told PHLY he suspected Johnson would return in an interview earlier this month and a few clips of the veteran right tackle’s workout regimen confirmed his training plan has been focused on playing another season rather than preparing for life after football.
His choice also comes roughly two weeks after Jeff Stoutland announced he’d be leaving the Eagles after 13 years as the team’s offensive line coach and one of the league’s best assistant coaches. For the first time in his career, Johnson will now have a new position coach in Chris Kuper, who joined the Eagles last week after spending four seasons as the Minnesota Vikings offensive line coach.
It’s also worth noting, according to Spotrac, Johnson will be due $41.7 million in cash this season while counting for $24 million on the salary cap.
With Johnson now officially back in the fold, the Eagles will go into next season with the hopes that an offseason of rest restores their offensive front back to being one of the best in the league. Cam Jurgens revealed that he underwent a stem cell treatment in Medellin, Columbia after spending last season seemingly hampered by a back injury he suffered during the team’s 2024 postseason run. Landon Dickerson is also trying to rebound from a litany of injuries suffered in each of the last few seasons, including a torn meniscus injury from last training camp that clearly affected him throughout last year.
Considering the Eagles’ tendency to set up succession plans at premium positions, Johnson’s return will buy the team more time to find an heir apparent for one of the most decorated players in franchise history.
Fred Johnson served as the team’s swing tackle last season and started nine games for the Eagles in Lane Johnson’s place, but the 28-year-old reserve will enter free agency this offseason and told PHLY back in January that he planned to pursue a starting opportunity elsewhere if Lane Johnson returned.
“If Lane retires, then I would most definitely think about staying,” Fred Johnson said. “If Lane doesn’t retire, then I’ll have to look for a starting opportunity. That’s just the nature of the business. Lane is one of the best I’ve ever seen. I don’t ever want to be compared to him or anything. That’s his spot, that’s his right.”
