October has turned out to be tough for the Philadelphia Eagles to handle. They were still recovering from a 20-24 loss to the Los Angeles Rams when a 14th-year veteran left a big void in the camp. Two days after right tackle Lane Johnson became inactive out of the blue for the Rams face-off, the two-time Super Bowl winner made the tough call to hang up his cleats. But so what? The Eagles are not ready to part ways. 

“PhillyVoice has learned that the Eagles plan on keeping Johnson on their 53-man roster this season,” reported PhillyVoice staffer Jimmy Kempski. “By doing so, that leaves open the possibility that Johnson could change his mind and come back to play this season, unlikely as that may be. Johnson said in August that this season would be his last in the NFL. Assuming that remains the case — or if he remains retired, as expected — the Eagles would then process his retirement after June 1 in 2027, which would delay salary cap ramifications until 2027 and 2028.

“Or perhaps better stated, Johnson’s salary cap situation would remain as is, as if he hadn’t retired and instead played out the 2026 season as originally planned.”

The 36-year-old has been the Eagles’ trusted weapon, having won two Super Bowls and making it to the Pro Bowl six times. But this season has been tough for the 2013 NFL Draft first-round pick. After sitting out four training camp practices this summer due to personal reasons, he announced that he expected this to be his last season in the NFL.

Fast forward to Oct. 6: he confirmed that mental health will be his first priority.

“I deeply wanted to gut it out for one more year; to take the field with my brothers for one last season,” Johnson’s statement read, in part. “But after a lot of reflection, I’ve realized that my personal and family priorities have changed. Right now, it is critical that I focus on my mental health. I owe it to my teammates, coaches, the organization, and the fans to have my head and heart 100 percent in the game. And right now my heart is telling me that it’s time to say goodbye to football.”

But when it comes to the Eagles not letting go of Johnson, it speaks a lot about the tackle’s contributions. He went 1,405 pass-blocking snaps without allowing a sack from Week 11 of 2020 through Week 9 of 2023.

Talking about sacrifices? Johnson did not think twice before postponing his surgery to be in the lineup as Philadelphia advanced to Super Bowl LVII. It did pay off, as in that season, he earned a 90.1 PFF pass-blocking grade and allowed no sacks or quarterback hits over 651 pass-blocking snaps that season.

Besides the contributions that led Philadelphia to cling to Johnson, there is a big monetary calculation behind this move. 

Johnson began the 2026 season with a $20.299 million cap hit, accounting for 6.4% of Philadelphia’s adjusted salary cap, per Over the Cap. His contract featured a $1.3 million base salary, along with $18.999 million in prorated signing and option-bonus charges. Since the bonus money had already been paid, those cap obligations would not simply disappear overnight upon his retirement. 

Now that Johnson has made the call, the Eagles could process his retirement after June 1, 2027, allowing the remaining applicable cap charges to be spread across the 2027 and 2028 seasons. This would essentially preserve his existing salary cap treatment as though he had played out the 2026 season as originally planned, rather than forcing Philadelphia to absorb the financial consequences of his retirement all at once.

While the Eagles are yet to figure out whether they made a wise decision monetarily or not, they will now have to think about the health of the O-line. 

Lane Johnson’s Absence Puts Eagles’ Offensive Line to the Test

A simple answer to how important Johnson has been for Philadelphia is that they have been a lot better with Johnson on the field than without him. Ever since he made it to the team in 2013, he has started 186 games, including the postseason. 

During that period, Philadelphia posted a 122-63-1 record, winning 65.9% of its games. While Johnson deserves only part of the credit for the team’s achievements, the six-time Pro Bowler consistently helped pave the way for players such as Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, and LeSean McCoy by winning his battles against opposing defenders.

What about the time when Johnson could not contribute? Philadelphia struggled in Johnson’s absence, compiling an 18-30 record over the 48 games he missed during his career. This clear contrast enhances the pressure for the next man up. 

With Johnson now retired, Markel Bell will be filling in his shoes. When it comes to experience, it is limited, as Bell will be making his first road start for the Eagles against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and that too in London. 

For the tough assignment, he is carrying the advice that Johnson left behind. 

“One thing that Lane always said was, ‘You can’t make the game bigger than it is. You gotta go out there and play your best ball, and if you mess up, let that be a tomorrow problem, and go out there and play the next play,'” said the Eagles’ rookie right tackle. 

It’s time to see whether Philadelphia feels like a fish out of the water without Johnson.