Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox said good-bye a year ago and Brandon Graham said good-bye on Tuesday.
Lane Johnson is the last man standing from that group of Eagles legends who were all drafted between 2010 and 2013, but rest assured he has no plans to walk away from football any time soon.
Johnson signed a one-year extension earlier this week, and he’s now under contract through 2027. If he plays through that deal, he'd match Graham’s franchise-record 15 seasons with the Eagles, and he’d be 37, which would make him the 2nd-oldest position player in franchise history, behind his mentor, Jason Peters.
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Is three more years possible?
“Yeah, I mean it's very possible,” Johnson said Wednesday. “I think when you get to this stage of your career, you take it year by year, but physically I feel really good.
“You know, a few years ago when I was coming back from all these (ankle) surgeries, I thought my body was going to start failing or going downhill. But I just think with the strength and conditioning program we have here and the stuff we do in the offseason, I feel really good.
“So, yeah, as long as I'm feeling good and I feel like I can contribute, I think I'll continue to play. It's all I've really known. I just love my football family. I'm an only child, so my brothers are here and have always been in the locker room, and that's how I feel.”
NFL
This, of course, is incredible news.
Johnson is the best right tackle in the NFL and while the Eagles had Cam Jurgens ready to take over for Kelce, Nolan Smith ready to take over for Graham and Jalen Carter ready to take over for Cox, it’s hard to imagine replacing Johnson.
He's one of only six offensive tackles in NFL history to make six Pro Bowls along with all-pro twice.
According to Pro Football Focus data, Johnson has played over 3,000 regular-season pass-block snaps since 2019 and allowed five sacks and 10 quarterback hits.
His six Pro Bowls are 3rd-most by an Eagles offensive lineman – one fewer than Kelce and Peters – and along with Graham he’s one of only two position players in franchise history to win two Super Bowls.
And he was as good this past season in his 12th season as he’s ever been.
“As a younger player, I think I had to get stronger to deal with some of these bull rushes, especially from Ryan Kerrigan, after that I just really focused on what I need to attack each offseason as far as becoming a better player,” he said. “So year after year, I feel like I've progressed, but for me it's about being strong and then a lot of it's about being flexible, being able to bend. A lot of players as they age, they lose that ability to explode and to burst.
“So when I look at athletes, you see what LeBron's doing, I've seen what some Olympic athletes have done. You know there's a guy out of Cuba, Mijaín López, that won his fifth gold medal at 41. So there are people that are able to go past the barriers or perceived barriers and I look to guys and athletes like that you know as inspiration and just to know that it's possible.”
Johnson has started 158 regular-season games as an Eagle, so if he plays out this contract and stays healthy he could get to 200 starts. Only nine offensive linemen in history have started 200 games and only played for one team. Only one of them – Hall of Famer Gene Upshaw with the Raiders – won two Super Bowls.
So Johnson has a real opportunity to continue to etch his name into the record books and build on an already-formidable Hall of Fame resume.
“Signed to play three more years and barring injuries or any of that, as long as my body's feeling good and I feel like I'm not regressing or becoming a shell of my former self, I could very well play three more years,” he said. “I love doing this.
“But I think at every stage, especially when you get past 10, I think everybody looks and goes, ‘OK, where are we at?’ after each season. And then, if any decision is going to be made, it's definitely going to be a few months into the offseason. It's not this one.”
When Johnson starts the 2025 season at right tackle, he’ll become the eighth player in franchise history to play 13 seasons in an Eagles uniform, joining B.G. (15 seasons), Chuck Bednarik (14) and Kelce, Brian Dawkins, Harold Carmichael, Bucko Kilroy and Vic Sears (13 each).
He's never been a free agent. The Eagles have always extended him before he got close.
“I never wanted to go to another team,” he said. “The Eagles have always been here for me, good or bad. And so they've been pivotal in my development as a player and as a person off the field. And so, yeah, I couldn't be more excited about staying here.
“It's very rare that a person can stay with one team 10-plus years. And my goal is to play well throughout my middle to late 30s, which I'm looking forward to.
“I love the challenge of being an older player and the routine you've got to keep up with. I think that's what I love most about football, just the conflict and the constant trying to improve. I think the people that I'm in the building with have a similar type of mindset.
“When you combine all these things, I think that's why we've had success here the past 10 years and I think why they're going to have success long after I'm gone. It's just the way they've done things here year after year.”
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