Eagles’ Lane Johnson believes he doesn’t deserve Hall of Fame honors

Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson could be in the Hall of Fame conversation one day — but he doesn’t believe he deserves to be.

Back in 2013, the Philadelphia Eagles were turning a page in the franchise. After a rough 2012 season, they canned their head coach Andy Reid and hired the ‘offensive genius’ out of Oregon University in Chip Kelly. Although Kelly was inheriting a struggling team, the Eagles had a few excellent draft picks to put it all together that year. It started with the fourth-overall pick, Lane Johnson.

Coming out of Oklahoma, Johnson was easily one of the best offensive linemen in his class. After all, he was a consensus top-five pick all along. Despite being a highly-touted prospect though, Johnson struggled with confidence in his strength. Therefore, he was taking PEDs early on in his career. Johnson managed to get through all 16 games during the 2013 season, but he would miss a few the following year after serving a four-game suspension.

Nobody thought twice about Johnson’s suspension. Typically, players who get caught with PEDs tend to avoid making the same mistake twice. Unfortunately, Johnson was not one of those players. During the 2016 season, Johnson failed a test once again and was facing a ten-game suspension this time for his second offense. While Johnson denied any wrongdoing and even appealed the suspension multiple times, he eventually served the time.

Since his second mishap, Johnson has been especially careful with what he’s been putting into his body. Whatever he’s been doing has worked great though since he’s been playing at a high level for the last two seasons. As Johnson is recognized as one of the best offensive linemen in the league, having him in potential Hall of Fame discussions is not out of the question.

However, Johnson believes that his previous two PED offenses should exclude him from any Canton honors he may garner in the future.

Does Johnson prefer Eagles Hall of Fame over Canton?

This has been an argument in sports for quite a while now. Should home run hitters in the MLB get inducted into the Hall of Fame if they were taking steroids? Well, it’s the same situation in the NFL. Johnson, who’s position requires power, has been caught taking substances that may help him increase his size and strength. For that, he believes he shouldn’t even be considered for the Hall.

When it’s all said and done though, Johnson made it clear he would absolutely settle for the Eagles Hall of Fame. “I’d like to be in the Eagles Hall of Fame. I just want to be known as a true blue Philadelphia Eagle. I don’t wanna play anywhere else. When I look back, I can say I played in one of the toughest and most beloved places in sports. And I love it”