On Tuesday, October 6, 2026, Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson announced that he was hanging up his cleats midway through his 14th NFL season. He previously suggested that the 2026 season would be his final one after missing a week of training camp. However, he realized that he needed to focus on his mental health even though he wanted to “gut it out” for one final season. But when Stephen A. Smith reacted to the abrupt retirement on his talk show, First Take, things went bad.
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Smith seemingly believed that when an offensive tackle says that he needs to focus on his mental health after playing four games in the new season, “it’s bad.” Kimberly A. Martin stopped Smith from diving further. Later on Wednesday, Smith took to his daily SiriusXM talk show and apologized for his comments. He claimed that people “misconstrued” him as “minimizing mental health.”
But the folks, including former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens, weren’t buying that, as the former NFL player said, “I don’t understand how there’s not any consequences to Stephen A.’s action, especially with ESPN and Disney being the corporation, the business entity that they are, to speak so insensitive with a topic like mental health, the way he did.”
Owens blasted Smith right in the beginning of the new episode of Get To The Point Podcast, saying: “Why isn’t he suspended? For him to speak so recklessly to a guy and then try to backtrack and say he’s had mental health issues. Then if you knew that, then you’re smart enough to not speak on something that’s affecting millions of people and is a very sensitive topic. But to feel like you have a microphone and a platform and be reckless with your words.”
Owens further slammed Smith for claiming that he had his own troubles with mental health. But according to Owens, Smith’s issues couldn’t have been equivalent to those of Johnson’s. After all, The Athletic’s Zach Berman and Brooks Kubena previously reported that Johnson was planning for retirement back in 2021 after he missed three games. It was actually because he was facing antidepressant withdrawal syndrome following a cycle.
“He’s never played football,” Owens went on. “Maybe his mental is not, I ain’t gonna say it, probably it’s not the same as a football person’s mental. His stresses or whatever he’s going through up to leading to where he’s sitting behind, getting paid by ESPN, that mental doesn’t even compare to a football player’s mental and what we have to go through.”
Nevertheless, Smith continued with his apologies as social media boomed with criticism around his words for Johnson. On Thursday, he revealed that his intention was to joke about the Eagles. But he indeed admitted that he messed up and was wrong.
“The biggest regret that I have for all of this is the fact that it may have given people that wanted to open the door, to seek help, a reason to pause and hesitate and not do so,” Smith said on Thursday. “And I can’t emphasize enough how sorry I am about that, because it is a real issue.”
Johnson’s brave decision to prioritize his well-being deserves nothing but absolute respect and unwavering support. And now, even Smith stands in his support.