Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson is returning for the 2026 season, his 14th in the NFL,The Philadelphia Inquirer's Jeff McLanereported Thursday.
Johnson, 35, missed the final eight games of his injury-riddled 2025 campaign, including the Eagles' wild-card playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers,because of a Lisfranc foot injury.
The 2013 No. 4 overall pick is a six-time Pro Bowler and five-time All-Pro who has helped Philly reach three Super Bowls and win its first two rings in franchise history.
Johnson is a cornerstone of the Eagles' offensive line and will offer valuable continuity up front as the team transitions to a new offenseunder 33-year-old coordinator Sean Mannion.
Longtime O-Line coachJeff Stoutland resigned earlier this month, and Chris Kuper — a former Denver Broncos guard who most recently coached with the Minnesota Vikings — will serve as his replacement.
With the scheme expected to change, and a new voice in the O-Line room, Johnson coming back is significant, particularly during an offseasonthat's also reportedly included 27-year-old left guard Landon Dickerson mulling retirementafter weathering a slew of injuries in his young career.
Johnson isn't just a locker room pillar, but he's likely a future Pro Football Hall of Famer as well.
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Consistently one of the NFL's best right tackles, Johnson has allowed just six total sacks since the start of the 2019 season, playoffs included, according to Pro Football Focus. He's a force in the run-blocking department, too, and played a role in Eagles running backs LeSean McCoy (1,607 rushing yards) and Saquon Barkley (2,005 rushing yards) leading the league on the ground in 2013 and 2024, respectively.
Barkley, of course, became the ninth back in NFL history to pile up more than 2,000 rushing yards in a single season.
This past season, though, Philadelphia's vaunted offensive line wasn't as dominant as usual. Injuries were certainly a factor, and so was a predictable offensethat then-OC Kevin Patullo called.
Barkley averaged just 4.1 yards per carry — 1.7 fewer than the previous season — and the Eagles plummeted from second in the NFL in rushing yards per game (179.3) in 2024 to 18th (116.9 per game) in 2025.
Johnson sustained his Lisfranc injury during a Week 11 "Sunday Night Football" win over the Detroit Lions. In Week 10, he injured his ankleamid the Eagles' "Monday Night Football"victory over the Green Bay Packers. All the way back in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Rams, he left the game with a stinger.
Johnson's presence makes a difference.
The Eagles were 8-2 in games he played in last season and just 3-5 in his absence,according to The Athletic, which reported that, since 2016, Philadelphia is 96-41-1 with Johnson on the field and a mere 15-28 when he doesn't play.
