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The DiCecco Daily: My View of Lane Johnson's Great Eagles Career · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Hello everyone and welcome into another episode of DiCecco Daily.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Andrew DiCecco, Eagles beat reporter for InsideTheBirds.com. And I originally
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: had a different podcast planned for you guys, but that
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: got put on hold because there was massive Eagles news
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: that came out Tuesday afternoon. And After a decorated career
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: that spanned 14 seasons, Eagles five-time All-Pro and six-time Pro
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Bowl right tackle and franchise icon Lane Johnson is calling
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: it a career. Johnson announced his retirement Tuesday afternoon via
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: a social media post, and I want to read that
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: for you for context. He says, Philadelphia, you truly are
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: the city of brotherly love, the best fans, and the
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: most prideful city in the entire world. I have given
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: it my all for 14 years, season after season pushing
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: my body to the max and tirelessly working my craft
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: to not only live up to the legacy of the
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: guys that came before me, but to set a new
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: standard of success for the best franchise in all of sports.
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: I deeply wanted to gut it out for one more year,
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: to take the field with my brothers for one last season.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: But after a lot of reflection, I realized that my
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: personal and family priorities in my life have changed.
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: Right now, it is critical that I focus on my
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: mental health.
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: I owe it to my teammates, coaches, the organization, and
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: the fans that have my head and heart 100% in
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: the game. And right now, my heart is telling me
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: it's time to say goodbye to football. At this time,
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: I have made the incredibly difficult decision to retire from
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: the National Football League. Riding up Broad Street as a
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: world champion, not once, but twice, and seeing the city
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: in all its glory was the ultimate privilege. I'll never
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: forget it. Thank you to Jeffrey, Lori, and the entire
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: Eagles organization for taking a chance on a kid from
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: small town East Texas and changing my life forever. And
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: thank you to the many coaches and teammates I've had
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: the honor of working with and playing alongside for the
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: past 14 years.
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: You all become lifelong friends and the brothers that I
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: never had.
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: Right now, what's most important to me is continuing to
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: focus on my mental health and spending more time with
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: my kids and family. But Philadelphia will always be home,
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: and I will forever be an Eagle. Thank you for
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: the love and enduring support. So, yes, I do find
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: that pretty surprising. And we'll kind of unpack all this.
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: And there's a lot to cover. But in the hours
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: leading up to the Eagles week four matchup, Lane Johnson
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: was suddenly listed as questionable with a personal designation. And
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: then he was subsequently ruled out. He was listed among
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: the Eagles inactives. And then two days later, of course,
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: Johnson decided on retirement. Going back to training camp, if
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: you can remember, Lane Johnson missed the first four training
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: camp practices. And at the time when he ended up speaking,
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: he mentioned that he was sort of, he was tending
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: to handling some personal stuff is what he said during
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: his absence. He returned after missing four practices. And then
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: when he did speak on August 8th, which was the
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: quote that I was pulling from, Johnson spoke after a
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: training camp practice at the Jefferson Health Training Complex, and
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: in response to a question, Johnson offered that the 2026
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: season was, quote-unquote, probably going to be his last. The
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: final ride might have lasted all of three games, but
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: Johnson irrefutably leaves the game better than he found it,
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: at the top of his profession. That's important to note
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: because oftentimes you'll see veteran players kind of hanging on,
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: Lane Johnson didn't want to do that unless he was
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: still going to be the best. And as far as
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: right tackles go, he continued to be the best to
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: the very last snap that he took.
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: And that would have been in Chicago on Monday Night Football.
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: And look, it's been a pleasure to cover Lane Johnson
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: during my time covering the team.
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: Nothing but the consummate professional experience. Seeing how a future
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: Hall of Famer.
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: Operates, how he goes about his business, the consistency, the
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: work ethic that's put in, the sacrifices that are required
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: to be at that peak level all the time. I mean,
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: that's not something that I can put into words. It
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: was something that you have to have a certain desire,
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: a certain drive to be able to reach that level
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: and to be that consistent for that long. and prioritize
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: and do and be fully devoted to your craft, which
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: I think is a big Testament to him really playing strongly, uh,
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: through his thirties. I think that speaks volumes of, of
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: Lane Johnson, uh, the football player, but Lane Johnson, the
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: man has done a lot for the community. He's done
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: a lot for the city of Philadelphia and.
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: He will forever be remembered as, as an all time.
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: Great man.
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: I think Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie put it best. He
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: said beyond his on-field accomplishments, Lane has done a tremendous
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: amount to give back to the community through his numerous
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: charitable endeavors. The courage he has shown using his own
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: personal experiences to advocate for mental health awareness has undoubtedly
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: saved lives. We appreciate everything Lane has contributed to our organization,
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: and we wish him and his family nothing but the best. Well,
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: that's all class there, unsurprisingly, from Eagles owner Lurie. Jeffrey Lurie,
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: and I think he put it best. Lane Johnson is
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: a Hall of Fame player and one of the truly
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: great eagles to wear the uniform. Sometimes in life, not sometimes,
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: in any occupation, what goes on on the outside, your
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: personal lives, that takes precedent. And I think Lane should
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: be commended for recognizing that and making the decision and
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: determining what's most important for him at this stage of
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: his life.
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: And hopefully that gives.
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: Him, you know, peace of mind and it puts his
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: mind at ease, but he's given nothing but his, his
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: all and, for 14 seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles.
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: And still playing at a high level.
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: Remember last season in 2025, he was limited to 10 games.
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: He had the Lisfranc foot, right foot injury, but he
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: rehabbed diligently. He ended up coming back and true to form,
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: you know, the Lane Johnson that.
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: Is widely recognized as one of the greats.
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: And I think that, Unless you watch him here, unless
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: you've watched his career and how he's sort of blossomed
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: as a 2013 first-round pick and grew into his body
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: and really knew how to maneuver and manipulate pass rushers
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: and use his athleticism, this otherworldly athleticism that he has,
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: to just be able to effortlessly, seemingly, just be able
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: to ward off some of the game's top pass rushers,
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: protect the quarterback at all costs. play through a ton
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: of injuries and just, as I mentioned, just give everything
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: back to the city that gave everything, you know, to
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: him with, in terms of support. And I think he
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: just really understood the city. He embodied the, the, the
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: grit and the determination and the work ethic that I
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: feel that Philadelphia represents personally. And I think you, I
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: think it was reflected in the way that he played,
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: the way that he approached the game and, Again, you
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: have to commend Lane Johnson for recognizing where your priorities
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: lie at this current time and taking action. And he
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: mentioned that unless he was going to be able to
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: give 100%, it was fair. He didn't want to be
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: out there. And he mentioned that in his statement.
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: He said, you know.
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: I owe it to my teammates, coaches, and the organization
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: and the fans to have my head and heart 100%
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: in the game. And he mentioned my heart is telling
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: me it's time to say goodbye to football. So needless
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: to say, I wish Lane all of the best. He's
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: been nothing but a class act and all time great.
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: And I don't know that what we saw for all
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: of those seasons for that caliber of play can ever
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: be replicated. And, I do believe that one day he
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: will be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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  Speaker 1: I would be surprised if, you know, he's certainly going
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: to be, I imagine, in the Eagles' wall of fame.
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: Most certainly. I mean, think about it. Lane Johnson, Jason Kelsey,
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox.
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: Those are players that sort of personified the Eagles' resurgence.
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: And really, they were all building blocks to.
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: the successful, the sustained success that they've established over the
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: last several years. And Lane Johnson is one of the
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: faces of that. And so Lane Johnson ends his prolific career,
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: a two-time Super Bowl champion. And let's face it, both
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: of those Super Bowls probably don't happen. They're not possible.
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: without the dominant play at right tackle from Lane Johnson.
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: And really, when you look back on the previous 13 seasons,
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: where the Eagles offensive line groups were overseen by legendary
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland, Lane Johnson at right tackle
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: and Jason Kelsey at center were the mainstays.
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: They were the.
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: Faces of that sort of offensive line resurgence in Philadelphia
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: for all of those years. And... I don't want to
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: overlook the other players that came through that helped establish
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: that rich tradition of offensive line play in Philadelphia. Jason Peters,
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: Landon Dickerson, Jordan Mailata, Brandon Brooks, Isaac Sayamalu, and there's
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: others that I'm forgetting. But Lane remained there through all
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: of that. Coaching changes and even most recently a schematic
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: change in which through it all, he was still a
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: pillar of stability. And another aspect of Lane Johnson that
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: I've long admired from afar, and then also covering him
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: and having a chance to hear him speak on these matters,
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: him being an advocate for mental health awareness. And in
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: today's world, that is hugely valuable to hear someone of
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: his caliber and someone who's as esteemed as he is
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: talk about that and show a willingness to be vulnerable
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: and forthcoming. And I recall a a speaking event that
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: he had in December of 2024.
• 14:11
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• 15:12
  Speaker 1: Clearview High School in Mullica Hill, New Jersey. It was
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: a speaking event on mental health, and It was Lane
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: Johnson and Rob Motti, who was the emcee for the event.
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: And both men.
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: Stood there, and they shared their stories with their bouts
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: with mental health, what they've done to persevere through it,
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: to overcome it. And you could see that their words
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: were really resonating with the crowd. And if you can
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: reach just a handful of people, even just one person.
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: they've done their job.
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: And for Lane to share his message, some of the
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: things that he does to combat that, I can remember
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: him saying that he listens to this song called Weightless,
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: which is a song without lyrics that he uses to
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: sort of channel that positivity and.
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: Get him dialed in.
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: It was a really powerful night, and it was great
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: to hear Lane speak on that. And I actually wrote
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: a story about it. It's called Paving a Different Lane,
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: and it's on InsideTheBirds.com.
• 16:07
  Speaker 2: But now the Eagles have to move.
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: Forward, and they need to first land on their right
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: tackle for the next week and for the rest of
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: the season. And all signs point to rookie third-round pick
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: Markel Bell, who started the Rams game.
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: And I thought he performed decently.
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: There were some plays I'm sure he'd like to have back,
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: and that's sort of a byproduct of a young player
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: learning on the job. He didn't find out but a
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: few hours before the game that he would get the nod.
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: He played one snap previously before that. But one thing
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: that's important to note is you could see the ability.
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: That he has.
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: And in training camp, when Lane missed those four practices
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: to start training camp, it was Markel Bell who was
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: sort of inserted at right tackle with the first team.
• 16:52
  Speaker 2: So he did get reps alongside Tyler Steen.
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: And whenever he had to sub in, whenever they needed
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: a sub at right tackle with the first team, it
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: was Markel Bell in the summer. mostly with the rare
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: occasion of Fred Johnson jumping in there. But I think
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: the Eagles want to continue to work with Markel Bell.
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: This opportunity right now is all going to be part
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: of the learning experience where you can grow and learn
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: from mistakes. You can power through some sticking points and
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: all of these opportunities, all of these snaps and reps
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: that you're getting are going to be critical to his development.
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: And I think, well, obviously when you invest in a
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: third-round draft pick, you want to give them, more often
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: than not, the first crack at it. And it is
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: also important to remember that Fred Johnson has been out
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: for the past couple weeks with a knee injury. He's
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: played quite a bit in the NFL as a backup tackle,
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: especially for the Eagles, and most recently for Lane Johnson
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: last year for, I believe, eight games when Lane had
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: the Lisfranc injury. that he sustained against the Lions in
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: November of that season. But yeah, I mean, Fred Johnson's
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: been around, but he signed a one-year deal and you
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: have someone in Markel Bell that you've already invested in.
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: So I would imagine that he would be the player
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: that the Eagles turn to at right tackle. And then
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: you just kind of, you kind of, Allow him to
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: take his lumps and you roll with the punches and
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: understand that that's all part of the process. But I
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: thought he did some decent things in his first NFL
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: go of it as a starter. And we'll see how
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: the week progresses and what route they ultimately do take.
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: But my gut tells me that it would be Markel Bell.
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: But the Eagles are also going to have to atone
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: for a potential loss of Cam Juergens this week. Cam
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: Juergens is in concussion protocol. He reported symptoms on Monday.
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: Following the game and we'll see. He has to clear
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: five different phases. He has to hop on the plane
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: on Friday to get to London. So it puts his status,
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: I would imagine, in doubt. But they don't have a
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: lot of options here. You already have Drew Kendall playing center.
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: Now you're probably going to have Markel Bell playing right tackle.
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: So the options at left guard would be Willie Lampkin,
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: who would be the first option. He's someone that repped
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: a ton at guard in training camp. I thought he
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: had a really good summer. He saw it in the preseason.
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: Short in stature, 5'11, that's been well documented, 290 pounds. But, man,
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: is he powerful. Does he have a strong base. And
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: he's very technical. We'll see how the Eagles choose to
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: play it, but he would be the player that I
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: would imagine gets the first nod. They also have Micah Morris,
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: the rookie, six-round pick out of Georgia, who, of course,
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: is my rookie diary subject. And he's a bigger offensive
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: lineman considerably. He's listed at. 335, I believe, might be 6'4, 6'5.
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: So he's more of a mauler with unique athletic traits,
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: but he's more of a developmental prospect at this time.
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: So between those two players, I would imagine Willie Lampkin
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: gets the nod there if Cam Juergens can't go. But man,
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: do the Eagles have a lot of decisions to make
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: with their injuries right now. And I'm really curious to
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: see how Howie Roseman goes about maneuvering the roster because
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: you have to account for Will Shipley, who's going to
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: be likely starting in this game. I mean, Will is
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: your kick returner, your personal protector on punt. He's a
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: core four special teamer. Tank Bigsby, who's headed for injured reserve.
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: was another kick returner. So both of your kick returners,
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: you may have to find other options there. I don't
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: know that you want Will exerting himself in the third
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: phase and being a prominent piece of the offense in
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: one game. That might be a little bit of an overload.
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: So what could the Eagles do there? Well, you have
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: in-house options in Elijah Moore. You already have Britton Covey
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: who can do it. But... Maybe it's a Xavier Gibson
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: on the practice squad that you want to elevate, but
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: you only have two elevations. You're going to have to
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: use two roster spots or elevations, however you decide to
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: do it, on two running backs, Damian Pearson, probably Carson Steele.
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: Zach Ertz has one more elevation left. Either you sign
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: him or you elevate him. You're probably going to need
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: another tackle from the practice squad, so John Ajuku, who's
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: been with the Eagles from the spring through camp to now,
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: He can play tackle and guard, rep the ton at
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: right tackle in training camp.
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: He makes some sense there.
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: And then you have the special teams aspect of it all,
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: where if you're missing a core guy like a Will
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: Shipley or someone else has to take on a more
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: expanded role in offense or defense, I don't know that
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: they're going to be able to give you 100% of
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: the snaps on special teams as well. So that comes
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: into the picture a little bit. And all of a sudden,
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: you have all of this tinkering that you have to do.
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: And I'm really curious to see how the Eagles approach it.
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: But this is setting up to be a very eventful
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: week for the Philadelphia Eagles. And we will have all
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: the coverage for you. Make sure you're tuning into all
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: of the Inside the Birds podcast. And, of course, the
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: Checo Daily and reading InsideTheBirds.com where I have the story
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: on Lane Johnson's retirement. But for now, that's going to
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: do it for this episode of the Checo Daily. I'm
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: Andrew DiCecco, and I'll catch you all on the next one.