- May 21, 2026
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Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson took a little time after the end of the 2025 season before announcing that he'd be back for his 14th year with the team, but he ultimately announced his plans to play in February.
That was around the time Johnson began feeling close to 100 percent after the foot injury that kept him out of the final eight games of last season. Johnson said at a Tuesday press conference that he pushed to get back ahead of the team's playoff loss to the 49ers, but "couldn't function" and didn't want that to be the final chapter of his career.
“I thought I was having a really good season last year and there was nobody more disappointed than me not being able to come in and play to finish it out," Johnson said. "I didn’t want to go out that way.”
Johnson's return comes without longtime offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland, who left the Eagles this offseason. He called the news of Stoutland's departure "a shocking ordeal," but thinks the team's new offense gives us "the ability to be more than we were last year" and it may give Johnson a chance to go out on a higher note than he would have if he retired this offseason.
That was around the time Johnson began feeling close to 100 percent after the foot injury that kept him out of the final eight games of last season. Johnson said at a Tuesday press conference that he pushed to get back ahead of the team's playoff loss to the 49ers, but "couldn't function" and didn't want that to be the final chapter of his career.
“I thought I was having a really good season last year and there was nobody more disappointed than me not being able to come in and play to finish it out," Johnson said. "I didn’t want to go out that way.”
Johnson's return comes without longtime offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland, who left the Eagles this offseason. He called the news of Stoutland's departure "a shocking ordeal," but thinks the team's new offense gives us "the ability to be more than we were last year" and it may give Johnson a chance to go out on a higher note than he would have if he retired this offseason.