Lane Johnson's retirement was a crushing blow to the Philadelphia Eagles, but there is an odd opening for him to return at any point this season.
On Tuesday, Johnson stunned the NFL world by announcing his retirement from the NFL, citing mental health as the reason. He was inactive at the last second in the Eagles' Week 4 loss to the Los Angeles Rams due to a personal matter.
The six-time Pro Bowler, five-time All-Pro, and two-time Super Bowl champion had already turned in his retirement papers to the Eagles. Philly, though, isn't ready to turn them in yet, with a certain strategy behind it all.
Lane Johnson not moving off Eagles' roster in 2026
Many Eagles fans noticed their team made a ton of moves before their Week 5 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Philly traded Cam Jurgens and called up multiple players from the practice squad, including Zach Ertz, Jake Majors, Carson Steele, and Dameon Pierce. One announcement that never went through, though, was Johnson being placed on the retired list.
Well, that's because the Eagles apparently won't turn in the retirement papers yet; in fact, he'll be on the roster for the rest of the 2026 season. Just hours before kickoff of the Eagles-Jaguars game, The Athletic's Zach Berman explained the reasoning.
"Lane Johnson will be listed among the inactives today.
My understanding is that this will be the case throughout the season and that the current plan is to keep Johnson on the 53-man roster.
There are salary cap implications if Johnson is placed on the reserve/retired list with the acceleration of the cap hit. If it processes post-June 1, the Eagles can spread the cap hit over two years and preserve some flexibility.
Keeping Johnson on the 53 would also allow Johnson to return to the roster in the unexpected event that Johnson were to come out of retirement this season.
Of course, this also means the Eagles will essentially have a 52-man roster this season. It's something they'll need to navigate with practice squad elevations."
Lane Johnson will be listed among the inactives today.
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) October 11, 2026
My understanding is that this will be the case throughout the season and that the current plan is to keep Johnson on the 53-man roster.
There are salary cap implications if Johnson is placed on the reserve/retired list with…
Johnson was off to a fantastic start to the 2026 season, allowing just two pressures on 112 pass-blocking snaps over three games. Pro Football Focus graded him the fifth-best tackle in the NFL with a 79.8. He also earned an 82.3 pass-blocking grade (ranked third) and a 76.3 run-blocking grade (ranked 11th).
This decision only brings up more questions about Lane Johnson & the Eagles
It's hard not to think about what this means for the team. The number one question is whether the Eagles are making the right call by keeping him on the roster, given how many injuries this team has.
Philly is already entering this Jaguars game with five players out and Jonathan Greenard questionable. Johnson's roster spot could have gone to a player who can help the team now. It just feels like the quarterback situation all over again, wasting a roster spot for no reason.
This also has a financial aspect, since the Eagles have already paid Johnson half of his 2026 salary. Now, the Eagles could most likely ask for part of that money back since he retired, so we'll have to see how that works out.
Eagles fans also can't help but think that a small part of the team hopes Johnson will unretire and play at some point this season. For him to make that announcement, if he makes it, it's pretty concrete that he's done, but Brandon Graham came out of retirement last year, so who knows. Anything could happen.
Read more: Eagles news roundup: Jalen Hurts injured, Andy Dalton released, 2 linemen out
This move feels interesting but confusing, but the Eagles will roll with it. Hopefully it ends up biting them in the butt, as the quarterback situation did in Week 4.
Add us as a preferred source on Google