Lane Johnson

Eagles RT Lane Johnson Intends To Play Through 2027 Season

March 30th, 2025 at 11:18am CST by Rory Parks

The Eagles recently extended right tackle Lane Johnson through 2027 by adding one year to his existing deal. The transaction served the dual purpose of rewarding a franchise icon with an additional $30MM in guaranteed money while also lowering his 2025 cap charge. Nonetheless, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer said at the time the extension was announced that Johnson may retire before his contract expires.

If Johnson has his druthers, though, he will play out his term of club control. “I feel really good. I think I can play out the contract,” the soon-to-be 35-year-old blocker said (via McLane).

Shortly before the 2024 season got underway, Johnson said he believes he can play until he is 40, thereby joining the likes of Jason Peters and Andrew Whitworth in that rarefied air for offensive linemen. In the same statement, though, Johnson acknowledged it was perhaps more realistic for him to play another two to three years.

At the time he made those comments, another three seasons would have taken Johnson through the 2026 campaign. As such, it is notable that he believes he can see out the 2027 add-on to his contract, which would take him through his age-37 season.

While factors unrelated to on-field performance, such as familial obligations and long-term health, are often instrumental in a player’s decision to retire, Johnson’s play has not shown any signs of regression even as he has entered his mid-30s. He just received his third consecutive (and sixth overall) Pro Bowl nod for his 2024 work, which was instrumental in Philadelphia’s second Super Bowl championship. The two-time First Team All-Pro graded out as Pro Football Focus’ fifth-best offensive tackle out of 81 qualifiers last year, and outside of his injury-shortened 2020 season, he has not finished lower than 13th in PFF’s grading system in any of the last nine years.

Now that Brandon Graham has retired, Johnson is all that remains of the Eagles’ “Core Four” that featured Johnson, Graham, Fletcher Cox, and Jason Kelce. At the moment, it sounds like that venerable quartet has a good chance of keeping its final member in the league for three more years.

Eagles Extend T Lane Johnson Through 2027

March 17th, 2025 at 10:15pm CST by Ben Levine

Lane Johnson is now on the Eagles’ books through the 2027 season. The team announced that they’ve signed their long-time lineman to a one-year extension.

The one-year extension is worth $25MM, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Johnson still had two years remaining on his previous pact. Schefter notes that the Eagles will be paying the lineman an extra $8MM over that span, increasing his 2025 and 2026 totals to $48MM ($40MM guaranteed). When today’s reworked deal was completed, Johnson ultimately saw an additional $30MM in guaranteed money. Today’s move should also provide the Eagles with some extra breathing room under the 2025 cap.

This isn’t the first time that Johnson’s added a year (and some guaranteed money) to his contract. After inking his then-record-breaking extension in 2019, he added a year to the deal in 2023. On the other side, the Eagles have traditionally been aggressive in extending stars early. Just over a week ago, the team added two years (and more guaranteed money) to Saquon Barkley‘s existing contract.

The fourth-overall pick in the 2013 draft, Johnson has established himself as one of the franchise’s all-time greats. The veteran has earned five-straight All-Pro nods, and he won his second Super Bowl ring this past season. Despite the 2024 campaign representing his age-34 season, Johnson still finished fifth on Pro Football Focus’ positional rankings.

When Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox retired following the 2023 season, Johnson hinted that he wanted to try playing into his 40s. At the same time, the lineman estimated that he may only “realistically” have two or three more seasons left in him. Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer previously predicted today’s extension, and the reporter noted that Johnson may not finish his existing deal.

While Johnson’s future plans may be a bit murky, the Eagles can at least count on having their lineman signed for the next three seasons.

Eagles RT Lane Johnson Addresses Playing Future

August 22nd, 2024 at 12:48pm CST by Adam La Rose

Following the 2023 season, Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox retired. Those decisions ended the careers for two of Philadelphia’s ‘Core Four’ players, but Brandon Graham and Lane Johnson remain in the fold.

The latter made it clear in the aftermath of the Eagles’ wild-card loss that he would not give consideration to retiring. Johnson’s latest comments on his future confirm that stance, although the five-time Pro Bowler is aware his decorated career is winding down. For the time being, at least, he can be penciled into the starting lineup up front.

“I think physically, I can do what [Andrew] Whitworth did and [Jason Peters], I can play until I’m 40,” Johnson said (via PHLY’s Zach Berman). “With my movement, you ask coaches, you ask players, I think physically I can do it… I’m thinking two to three more years, realistically. But we’ll see. It’s hard to step away from something you love, and something you’ve done for so long.”

At the age of 34, Johnson has a long way to go if he is to seriously contemplate matching what Whitworth and Peters were able to accomplish. Citing his family as a reason for stepping away from football relatively soon, though, his given timeline would set him up to retire well before reaching the age-40 mark. The two-time All-Pro is under contract through 2026.

Johnson’s deal calls for cap hits ranging between $15.87MM and $18.7MM during that span, and he is owed $20MM each pf the next three years. Option payments are due on September 1 for all three years before the contract voids, a setup which had his future retirement in mind when the pact was worked out last year. The Eagles are set to carry signficant dead money charges after Johnson hangs up his cleats through the addition of void years, but alterations could of course be made depending on his playing future.

The Super Bowl LII winner is among the highest earners for offensive linemen in NFL history, but his continued strong play deep into his career has him positioned to remain an unquestioned RT starter for the next few years. Johnson’s decision on his playing career will likely remain a talking point for him and the Eagles, although for at least the time being retirement may not be a front burner issue.

NFL Active Leaders In Career Earnings

July 13th, 2024 at 10:00pm CST by Ben Levine

Kirk Cousins‘ four-year, $180MM deal with the Falcons this season vaulted him up the list of active career earners. This was by virtue of his $50MM signing bonus, adding to the more than $231MM he earned from the Commanders and (mostly) the Vikings throughout his career. Even under the worst-case scenario, Cousins will still see at least another $50MM come his way via his contract with Atlanta, which would push his career earnings north of $331MM.

While the soon-to-be 36-year-old Cousins will surely see a significant portion of the $80MM worth of unguaranteed money on his contract, he’ll still be hard pressed to catch Aaron Rodgers on the career-earnings list. Rodgers earned more than $306MM during his long tenure in Green Bay, and he’s already made close to $37MM during his one season in New York (mostly via the $35MM signing bonus on his reworked pact).

With at least $40MM of additional guarantees coming his way from the Jets, Rodgers will continue to grow his lead as the highest-earning NFL player of all time. Both Rodgers and Matthew Stafford were able to leap Tom Brady among the NFL’s highest all-time earners over the past year.

With all that said, we’ve listed the 25 active players who have earned the most money in their NFL careers (h/t to OverTheCap.com). While this list is up to date, it doesn’t account for soon-to-realized salaries for the 2024 campaign. This list is also solely focused on NFL cash and does not include off-the-field earnings:

QB Aaron Rodgers: $343MM
QB Matthew Stafford: $328MM
QB Russell Wilson: $305MM
QB Kirk Cousins: $281MM
QB Jared Goff: $234MM
LB Von Miller: $179MM
QB Joe Flacco: $177MM
OT Trent Williams: $171MM
QB Derek Carr: $165MM
LB Khalil Mack: $162MM
QB Dak Prescott: $161MM
DL Aaron Donald: $157MM
QB Jimmy Garoppolo: $150MM
DE Calais Campbell: $143MM
QB Deshaun Watson: $142MM
QB Patrick Mahomes: $136MM
DE Joey Bosa: $134MM
DL Leonard Williams: $134MM
WR Mike Evans: $132MM
QB Carson Wentz: $130MM
WR DeAndre Hopkins: $128MM
WR Stefon Diggs: $126MM
DE Cameron Jordan: $126MM
OT Lane Johnson: $121MM
DT Chris Jones: $120MM

Eagles’ Lane Johnson, Brandon Graham Intend To Play In 2024

January 16th, 2024 at 5:24pm CST by Ben Levine

Following last night’s disappointing playoff loss, we learned that at least one Eagles star was calling it career. Fortunately for the organization, a pair of veterans made it clear that they’ll be sticking around for 2024. Defensive end Brandon Graham and offensive lineman Lane Johnson told reporters that they intend to play next season, per Zach Berman of PHLY.

After spending the past 14 years in Philly, it was unclear if 2023 would be the final season of Graham’s career. While the 35-year-old didn’t come close to replicating his 11-sack campaign from 2022, he still finished the season having compiled 16 tackles, three sacks, and six QB hits. While the counting stats were down, Pro Football Focus ranked Graham 17th among 118 qualifying edge defenders.

Graham has continued to re-sign with the Eagles on short-term deals, and it sounds like he intends to stick around for at least one more season.

“I still feel like I got a little bit of juice,” Graham told reporters (h/t SPORTSRADIO 94WIP on X). “I really just want to have this one be [season No.] 15, farewell tour, call it a day, and move up in the organization and go upstairs and do that part on serving the guys. Keep building this thing.”

Johnson earned his third-straight All-Pro nod in 2023, and he managed to get into 16 games for the first time since the 2015 season. Despite the 2023 campaign marking his age-33 season, Johnson still managed to rank 11th among 83 qualifying offensive tackles, per Pro Football Focus. While Graham hinted at one more year, it sounds like Johnson could be sticking around the NFL for a few more years.

“I plan on finishing my career strong,” Johnson said (via Berman). “I think I have a few good years left and I’m going to take it to the limit.”

We learned this morning that center Jason Kelce was calling it career. As Berman notes, it’s uncertain whether long-time Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox will be back for the 2024 campaign.

NFC East Notes: Eagles, Davis, Giants

May 26th, 2023 at 10:56am CST by Sam Robinson

Once again positioned as a Super Bowl frontrunner, the Eagles did lose both their starting safeties (Marcus Epps, C.J. Gardner-Johnson) and three-down linebackers (T.J. Edwards, Kyzir White) in free agency. The team has retooled at those spots, placing outside additions (Terrell Edmunds, Nicholas Morrow, third-rounder Sydney Brown) and holdovers (Reed Blankenship, Nakobe Dean) in the starter picture. Dean, a former Georgia standout who unexpectedly dropped into the 2022 third round, will be expected to start, Tim McManus of ESPN.com notes, adding Edmunds and Blankenship are the early expected starters at safety. But more help will probably be on the way. The spring additions aside, McManus expects the defending NFC champions to add both at safety and linebacker before the season. The Howie Roseman-era Eagles have a history of late-offseason supplementation on defense, having acquired Gardner-Johnson barely a week before last season and having traded for Ronald Darby in August 2017.

Here is the latest from the NFC East:

The Cardinals’ tampering violation involving Jonathan Gannon may have impacted Vic Fangio‘s decision-making this offseason. Fangio likely would have become the Eagles’ defensive coordinator had the Cardinals and Gannon been upfront about the process that led to the two-year Eagles DC leaving for Arizona, Adam Schefter of ESPN said during a recent appearance on 97.5 The Fanatic’s John Kincade Show. Cards GM Monti Ossenfort confessed to inappropriate contact with Gannon after the NFC championship game. The Cardinals officially requested a Gannon HC interview on Super Bowl Sunday, but discussions occurred before that point. The Eagles had previously eyed Fangio, who had served as a consultant for the team last season, as a Gannon replacement. Ex-Fangio lieutenant Sean Desai is now running Philly’s defense, and the team would have needed to pay up to keep Fangio, who is earning upwards of $4MM per year with the Dolphins.
Lane Johnson played in all three Eagles playoff games, coming back in limited form after suffering a late-season adductor injury that required offseason surgery. With that operation successful, Johnson alerted fans this week (via Twitter) he is good to go. This injury was not expected to threaten Johnson’s training camp availability, and the Eagles are on track to have their right tackle back — and on a new deal — well in time for the season.
Commanders linebacker Jamin Davis will miss offseason time after undergoing a cleanup procedure on his knee, Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post tweets. This procedure occurred earlier this year and should be considered unlikely to threaten the third-year defender’s chances of starting the season on time. A 2021 first-round pick, Davis worked as a full-time starter in Washington last season, making 104 tackles (nine for loss) and tallying three sacks.
The Giants are making some changes to their scouting department. D.J. Boisture, a second-generation Giants staffer who had been with the team for a decade, is no longer in place as its West Coast area scout, Neil Stratton of InsidetheLeague.com tweets. Pro scout Steven Price is also out, per the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz, who notes this may be a case of neither’s contract being renewed. Price spent the past three years with the Giants. GM Joe Schoen did not make many changes to Big Blue’s scouting staff last year, but the post-draft period often sees shuffling in these departments. The Giants are also promoting Marcus Cooper — an ex-Bills exec — to a national scout role. Cooper has been with the Giants for five years. Blaise Bell, who has been in the organization since 2019, will also rise to an area scout role.
Oshane Ximines‘ deal to stay with the Giants will be worth the league minimum. The fifth-year outside linebacker will be tied to a one-year, $1.1MM deal, per The Athletic’s Dan Duggan, who notes the Giants are guaranteeing the former third-round pick $200K (Twitter link).

Eagles To Extend RT Lane Johnson

March 24th, 2023 at 8:26am CST by Sam Robinson

The Eagles entered the offseason with just one of their four cornerstone linemen under contract, but Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox and Jason Kelce have since signed new deals. The other member of this quartet, Lane Johnson, has since followed suit.

Philadelphia’s 11th-year right tackle agreed to a fourth contract with the team Friday morning. Johnson signed an extension that runs through 2026, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The former first-round pick was already under contract through 2025, making this a one-year bump. But Johnson will collect a chunk of guaranteed money and reduce his 2023 cap hit in the process.

Johnson’s new deal includes $30MM guaranteed, Schefter adds, noting this can be classified as a one-year, $33.45MM accord. The agreement will reduce Johnson’s 2023 cap hit by more than $9MM, according to NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo (on Twitter). The All-Pro blocker was set to carry a $24.2MM 2023 cap number. This new signing bonus will drop that cap figure to approximately $14.8MM. The next two years of Johnson’s contract are now guaranteed, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane tweets.

Graham, Cox and Kelce each agreed to new one-year contracts this month. Johnson is the only member of Philly’s core four signed beyond 2023, and his agreement will help the team afford the deals for his veteran teammates. The Eagles are the rare team with four players drafted 10-plus years ago still on the roster, and this contract does not necessarily lock in Johnson through 2026, as that will be his age-36 season. But it rewards a player who played at a high level through a significant injury to close last season.

Johnson, 32, is recovering from offseason adductor surgery. The Oklahoma alum played through a torn adductor in the playoffs, tabling surgery until after Super Bowl LVII. Although Johnson’s 2022 regular season wrapped after 15 games, he earned his second first-team All-Pro honor. The dominant right-sider has not given up a sack in two seasons.

The Eagles had already adjusted Johnson’s contract — a four-year, $72MM deal agreed to in November 2019 — a whopping four times. Three void years are already attached to the deal. While one of those is no longer a dummy year, Johnson’s deal technically runs through 2028 for cap purposes.

Graham, 35, agreed to a one-year deal worth $5MM. Kelce, 35, is back for a 14th season, signing a one-year extension worth $14.25MM. The Eagles let Cox, 32, hit free agency, but he is back on a one-year, $10MM accord. Although injuries and early-career PED issues have interfered with Johnson’s NFL path, he has managed to remain an elite lineman into his 30s. Johnson has missed six regular-season games over the past two years, bouncing back after missing nine in 2020. The Eagles, who lost veteran starter Isaac Seumalo to the Steelers late last week, will still return four starting O-linemen.

Eagles Rumors: Dickerson, Berry, Free Agents

February 5th, 2023 at 8:13pm CST by Ely Allen

In a pileup during the Eagles’ NFC Championship win over the 49ers, guard Landon Dickerson suffered a hyperextension of his right elbow in the fourth quarter and was forced to leave the game. After an MRI of the injury came back negative for any serious damage, it is expected that Dickerson will be able play in the Super Bowl next Sunday, according to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Dickerson will likely need to wear a brace on the injured elbow through practices and probably in the big game, as well. The Eagles subbed in former first-round pick Andre Dillard when Dickerson was forced to exit last week. Dillard will presumably be prepared once again, in the event that Dickerson aggravates the injury any time before the final whistle of the season.

Here are a few more rumors concerning the NFC’s Super Bowl representatives:

Philadelphia is expecting to make an addition to their front office after the season, according to The Athletic’s Zach Berman. Following the 2023 NFL Draft, Adam Berry is expected to be joining the team, working with the personnel and operations departments. Berry, the twin brother of Browns general manager and executive vice president of football operations Andrew Berry, is a managing director at Goldman Sachs who will be making the leap to the NFL. His brother, Andrew, has been with the Browns for six of the past seven years with a one-year stint in Philadelphia as the vice president of football operations. Berry will join his brother’s former franchise and “will be learning all facets of…football operations.”
Win or lose, after this weekend the Eagles will have to turn towards next season, where there’s a chance the team will look vastly different than it currently does. Starters such as defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, defensive end Brandon Graham, and center Jason Kelce all are currently destined for free agency in the offseason, and veteran right tackle Lane Johnson could be mulling the decision to hang up his cleats. McLane seemed to imply in his recent report that the likeliest scenario in which these four aren’t Eagles next season would be if they all retire. He seems to believe that, if they all desire to return to Philadelphia, the team will make it happen.

Eagles RT Lane Johnson Eyeing Divisional Round Return

January 13th, 2023 at 3:57pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Eagles will have the luxury of watching the NFC’s Wild-Card matchups this weekend as the postseason begins, as a result of their success in clinching the conference’s No. 1 seed in Week 18. Their bye week will allow a key member of their offense to continue healing, potentially in time for a return next week.

Right tackle Lane Johnson has progressed during rehab from his adductor injury to the point where he expects to play in Philadelphia’s Divisional Round matchup. That news comes as little surprise given his decision to put off surgery – something which would have left him sidelined until the 2023 campaign – but it is nevertheless a significant development for the Super Bowl contenders.

The 32-year-old suffered the injury in Week 16, and has been pushing to rehab it ever since. Doing so will primarily be a matter of pain management, something which will only truly be tested during full-contact drills next week. Encouragingly, though, Johnson was able to return to the practice field on Friday for the first time since going down. His remarks today suggest he will be able to suit up if everything goes according to plan in the coming days.

“Excited about today being back out there practicing,” he said, via NBC Sports’ Reuben Frank. “Felt good. The goal was to keep testing it and progressing. Made a lot of progress this week and trying to have a regular week next week and see how I feel.”

Johnson was named a first-team All-Pro for the second time in his career today, adding further to his individual accolades and underscoring his importance to the Eagles’ offense. The four-time Pro Bowler confirmed his continued status as one of the league’s top tackles by generating a sterling PFF grade of 89.8 in pass protection, making him an integral part of the Eagles’ highly efficient attack. In his place, the team turned to Jack Driscoll at right tackle, but their preference would obviously be a return from Johnson at anywhere near 100%.

Philadelphia enjoyed the return of quarterback Jalen Hurts last week; the same is true of defenders C.J. Gardner-Johnson and defensive end Robert Quinn after they were activated from IR. Assuming Johnson will be able to play for the postseason, the Eagles could be well-positioned to live up to the potential they showed over the course of a hugely successful regular season.

“The timing of the injury wasn’t great,” Johnson added, “but the only reason I’m coming back is because I think we have a chance to be something special. That’s my reason.”

Eagles RT Lane Johnson To Delay Adductor Surgery, Will Play In Postseason

December 28th, 2022 at 11:32am CST by Adam La Rose

DECEMBER 28: Johnson will need surgery to address this injury, but the Pro Bowl right tackle will not undergo an operation that threatens his playoff availability. Following consultations with several doctors, the 10th-year Eagles right tackle will put off surgery on his torn adductor, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Johnson plans to return in time for the Eagles’ first playoff game. The eventual procedure will shut down Johnson for around three months, per Rapoport (on Twitter). Rather than move in that direction now, Johnson will attempt to play through this injury after some rehab time.

DECEMBER 26: The Eagles may have their starting quarterback available to close out the regular season, but the same will likely not be true of one of their key offensive linemen. Right tackle Lane Johnson is dealing with a torn tendon in his abdomen, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). Surgery may be required at some point, as noted (on Twitter) by Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Schefter adds that Johnson is expected to miss the final two weeks of the regular season. While that will make for a notable absence down the stretch, the team is hopeful at this point that he can recover in time for the playoffs. Philadelphia failed to clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC over the weekend, but doing so at any point in the remaining stretch of the campaign would guarantee them a bye in the Wild Card round and give Johnson extra time to get healthy.

The 32-year-old was recently named a Pro Bowler for the fourth time in his career, as his standout play has continued in 2022. Johnson has generated a PFF grade of 83.2 this season, the second straight season in which he has eclipsed a rating of 80 or higher and sixth overall. He has graded out as the seventh-best offensive tackle per PFF, underlining his importance to Philadelphia’s offense during what has been a hugely successful season to date.

The Eagles have a league-best record of 13-2, and have seen plenty of production on the ground due in no small part to the strength of their offensive front. Johnson has been instrumental in Philadelphia averaging 154 yards per game on the ground, which ranks fourth in the NFL. A ground-heavy approach could be in order if QB Jalen Hurts is once again forced to sit out due to a shoulder sprain, though a return in time for Week 17 against the Saints could still be on the table.

This injury will mark Johnson’s first missed time since a three-week absence last season, the cause of which he cited as mental health. The impact on the Eagles’ pass protection in particular will likely be substantial, as the former top-five pick has yet to allow a sack since 2020.

Jack Driscoll, drafted in the fourth round that year, is expected to be Johnson’s replacement at right tackle; he has made 14 starts in his career, including one this season. But Nick Sirianni said a potential Jordan Mailata position switch — from left to right tackle — that would allow Andre Dillard to man the blindside post is on the table as well, Zach Berman of The Athletic tweets. Dillard has played both positions but has more experience on the left side. The 2019 first-rounder started five games at left tackle last season. Mailata saw time at right tackle briefly last year as well, with Dillard playing the left side during the time in which Mailata was back and Johnson out.

The Eagles enter the closing stages of the regular season with Super Bowl aspirations, but the injuries to Hurts and now Johnson cast serious doubt on their offensive upside in at least the immediate future. Their respective recoveries will go a long way in determining how deep of a playoff run the team can go in January and February.

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