I’ve never seen the Pyramids of Giza or the Roman Colosseum, but I have seen Lane Johnson drive a defensive tackle into the dirt. I have seen what happens when a 6’6”, 325 lb kid out of Eastern Texas pulls together all of that superhuman athleticism and all of that football intellect to become a brick wall for 60 minutes. Lane Johnson was a kaiju. Godzilla in midnight green. I’ve seen him make world-beating pass rushers look like turnstiles. He’s your favorite pass rushers’ nightmare’s worst nightmare.
Yesterday, after a start to the regular season that could best be described as a car driving off a cliff, the Philadelphia Eagles right tackle announced his retirement. To say that the Eagles will miss Lane Johnson is beyond an understatement. Johnson was a suit of armor for the entire Eagles offense. He made sure the only thing to touch the quarterback was oxygen. He made every single player around him better and was one of the quiet forces behind the most successful era of Philadelphia Eagles football ever. He was a legendary lineman that most teams possess only in their wildest dreams. And luckily, we got to live ours.
Philly is a blue-collar city with a deep respect for any athlete possessing the confidence that comes from hard work. We praise those with the gravitas to dig their hand in the dirt on the off chance they pick up a diamond. It’s no wonder we’re a town that makes offensive linemen into stars. And few of those stars shone brighter over the Delaware Valley than Lane Johnson.
Selected 4th overall in the 2013 NFL Draft as the first draft pick of the Chip Kelly era, Johnson comes out on the other side of a 13-year career as a 6x Pro Bowler, a 2x 1st Team All-Pro, a Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee, and most importantly one of the biggest drivers behind the only two Super Bowls the Philadelphia Eagles have ever won.
The numbers speak louder than a car horn on Broad Street. Johnson is the highest-graded right tackle Pro Football Focus has ever tracked. Since 2017, he’s ranked 1st in fewest sacks allowed per game and 1st among offensive tackles for fewest hits allowed per game (according to The Score’s Brenden Deeg). He’s only gotten better with age, allowing just 4 sacks out of 2,485 pass-blocking snaps since 2020 (according to SI’s Jeff Kerr).
He was the foundation of the house that the Eagles offense is built on. You never worried he wouldn’t be there to support it. But when he wasn’t, the Eagles felt it. Since 2013, the Eagles are 122-63-1 with Lane Johnson and 18-30 without him. He guarded the right side of Michael Vick, Sam Bradford, Mark Sanchez (sorry, had to throw that in there), Carson Wentz, Nick Foles, and Jalen Hurts.
When the Eagles needed hungry dogs to run faster, he wore the mask that became a symbol and led that 2017 Eagles team to the mountaintop against Bill Belichick and Tom Brady’s dynasty. When they needed him again, he helped Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense launch an improbable beatdown of the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. He was the throughline. The constant through all of the trepidations that rocked the Eagles. No matter how bad things got, at least we had Lane Johnson shoring up the right side of the line.
Beyond the Super Bowl wins and Pro Bowl performances, Johnson also showed the relatable vulnerability of a superhero. He battled anxiety and depression through the rigors of football. The only thing more difficult than blocking J.J. Watt is the weight your own mind can place on you. A city like Philadelphia can be a difficult place to play ball, on top of the innate pressures of being a professional athlete. We all have moments where it feels like our own brain has us against the ropes. Lane felt it, was honest about it, and worked to overcome it while putting himself in a position to help others and raise awareness.
He was nominated for a Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 2023 for his work around mental health awareness and supporting military families. As Jason Kelce said of Johnson in 2021:
“I think that Lane has been a very underappreciated player in the league for a long time and I think in particular I think he’s not as out in the open or boisterous a personality but I think some of the things he’s overcome and persevered through has helped a lot more people than people realize.”
With Johnson’s sudden retirement, the Eagles plummet into a dark realm of uncertainty. Already parting with legendary offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland this offseason after his 13-year tenure (which started at the same time as Johnson’s), the Eagles lose another staple of the Super Bowl era. An already doomed season has the potential to collapse underneath them. Now on their third offensive line combination this season, the Eagles will be approaching their fourth. Depending on what happens with Cam Jurgens, who is currently in concussion protocol, the Eagles will have three new starters against the Jaguars in London this week. They will look to human giant Markel Bell to learn on the job while the rest of the offensive line coalesces under a new wide zone blocking scheme.
But that’s for me to crash out about while watching football at 9:30 a.m. this Sunday while working on my British accent as the Eagles play in London. For now, we celebrate one of the rare superheroes to walk through Philadelphia. A certified Hall of Famer who could block the sun if he wanted to. The man who always did the dirty work no matter who stood across from him. He was the Eagles’ great protector. The equal and opposite reaction. The Great Wall of Philadelphia.