The Philadelphia Eagles look nowhere near as invincible as they had before the 2025 season. Not only does the roster need to absorb major subtractions, but the coaching staff has lost one of its biggest aces in the hole when legendary offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland parted ways with the team.
This has thrown the status of future Hall of Famer Lane Johnson into question. Not only would he be embarking upon his 14th NFL season, but he will need to decide if he wants to run it back without someone like Stoutland guiding him along the way.
Johnson may be considering retirement, but it seems like he is going to give Philadelphia at least one more rock-solid year before he decides to hang it up, possibly. One of his former teammates seems to believe that Johnson will be locked in at right tackle once again.
Former Eagles running back LeSean McCoy claims he has already spoken to Johnson and confirmed that he will return for at least the 2026 season. Once again, the Eagles can lean on the best bookend tackle combination in the sport between Johnson and Jordan Mailata.
LeSean McCoy says Lane Johnson will return to Eagles in 2026
Not only is Johnson considering retirement, but left guard Landon Dickerson was reportedly thinking of hanging it up at 27 years old just months after signing a huge four-year contract extension. Getting at least one of them back will be a huge boost for Jalen Hurts and new OC Sean Mannion.
Johnson has struggled to stay healthy over the last few years, missing time due to injuries in each of the last five seasons. Johnson isn't suddenly going to turn into Cal Ripken Jr. as he gets older, and the Eagles need to factor his declining health into their plans for 2026.
Read more: Eagles could save $18 million in cap space without cutting a single player
The one silver lining is the fact that Johnson remains one of the best right tackles in football, not the outright best, despite his advanced age. With the Eagles in need of a major bounce-back season after the mess that was the Kevin Patullo-led season last year, Johnson will need to be at the tip of the spear.