One member of the Philadelphia Eagles offers the perfect blueprint on how to process Lane Johnson’s sudden retirement
The Philadelphia Eagles were dealt a heavy blow with the news of Lane Johnson’s retirement — but chairman & CEO Jeffrey Lurie laid the perfect blueprint on how to process it all.
Surely this isn’t how anyone envisioned the end of Lane Johnson‘s career with the Philadelphia Eagles. Johnson will go down in franchise history as one of the all-time greats. And his role in helping the Eagles break through their Super Bowl woes only further cements him as a Hall of Fame caliber player.
And yet here we are. Johnson announced his retirement today, just days after he was abruptly out of the lineup against the Los Angeles Rams. In his statement, Johnson cited his mental health and the need to spend time with his family despite believing he was in a place to push through one last season. And now, we’ve heard from the Eagles’ side. Team chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie has offered a statement on behalf of the team in the wake of Johnson’s decision. Consider it the blueprint on how you should process it, too.
Philadelphia Eagles chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie offers statement in wake of Lane Johnson’s abrupt retirement
“Lane Johnson is an all-time Eagle and one of the best players to every play his position in NFL history. Lane was a major contributor to our team success for 14 seasons, helping to bring two Super Bowl championships and many other memorable moments to the organization and the city of Philadelphia.
Lane excelled under multiple coaching staffs, maintaining an elite level of play throughout his entire career. His combination of talent, strength, athleticism, and intelligence made him a truly unique player in this league. And there is no doubt in my mind that he will one day be names to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Beyond his on-field accomplishments Lane has done a tremendous amount to give back to the community through his numerous charitable endeavors. The courage he has shown in using his own personal experiences to advocate for mental health awareness has undoubtedly saved lives.
We appreciate everything Lane has contributed to our organization, and we wish him and his family nothing but the best.”
Jeffrey Lurie
Philadelphia Eagles chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie
This is obviously much bigger than football. And I think Lurie deserves all the credit for striking the right tone of reflection on Johnson’s career in Philadelphia. This is a move that will surely deal a heavy blow to the Eagles between the lines and in the locker room. But expressing gratitude for over a decade of service is, of course, the right play. Johnson’s mental health struggles are well established and whether or not the Eagles need him at tackle on Sundays is a secondary point in the big picture.
Johnson will close his NFL career ranking 8th on the all-time list of games played for the Eagles (171). He ranks just in front of Chuck Bednarik and Tre Thomas on the franchise leaderboard.
Philadelphia’s offensive line unit will miss his presence in more ways than one. That kind of experience is invaluable to an offensive line room—especially so amid the offseason departure of offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland. The band is breaking up a little bit in Philadelphia. But Lurie’s statement offers the playbook on how to process it. Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.
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