At 35 years old and entering his 13th NFL season, Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson should be contemplating retirement. Instead, he’s making headlines with a stunning claim: he’s nearing his peak performance. “Now, I feel like even though I’m 35, I feel better than I was when I started (or when I was) 29 or 30,” Johnson said after a recent OTA practice. “And now, I feel like I’m getting close to maybe my peak. As weird as it is to say, but that’s truly how I feel.”
For most players, this statement would seem far-fetched, but Johnson is no ordinary athlete. His resume backs up his bold confidence. Over the past four seasons, he’s earned first- or second-team All-Pro honors and has secured six Pro Bowl selections. Alongside teammate Brandon Graham, Johnson is one of only two position players to win two Super Bowls in an Eagles uniform. Last season, at age 34, he became the oldest Pro Bowl right tackle since Hall of Famer Jackie Slater in 1990. He’s also part of an elite group of just five offensive tackles in NFL history with two championships, two first-team All-Pro nods, and at least six Pro Bowls—joining legends Forrest Gregg, Jim Parker, Art Shell, and Rayfield Wright, all enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
Despite his accolades, Johnson felt overlooked in 2024 when Detroit’s Penei Sewell claimed the All-Pro nod over him. The snub still stings and drives him to elevate his game. “Yeah, with anything you read, you try to change,” Johnson told NBC Sports Philadelphia. “If somebody has a bad opinion of you, hopefully you can get out there in the field and maybe change their narrative on you. The only way how is to be more violent. For me, that’s what it’s going to take.”
Johnson’s resurgence is remarkable considering his challenges in 2021, when ankle injuries left him visibly hindered. “The toughest year was ’21 and you can go back and watch it, you can clearly see on film, I was very hindered with my left foot,” he recalled. After multiple surgeries, he’s now healthier and more dominant than ever. “Maybe they need to do a Combine for guys 10 years (in the league), see how we do compared to 10 years ago,” he quipped, highlighting his belief in his physical prime.
Much of Johnson’s sustained excellence stems from his time in Philadelphia and the guidance of offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland. Reflecting on the 2013 NFL Draft, when Kansas City, Jacksonville, and Miami selected ahead of the Eagles, Johnson knows his career could have taken a different path. “I thought about what would have happened if I went to Miami,” he said. “Kansas City wouldn’t have been bad, but, you know, Jacksonville? But yeah, very fortunate to land here, and I just think the passion of the city and the intensity and how they focus so much on the sport, I think it allows, whatever pressure they put on you, I think it allows you to be the best player you can be.”
Johnson’s durability is equally impressive. With 173 starts, including postseason games, he ranks fifth in Eagles history, trailing only Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox among players who spent their entire careers in Philadelphia. If he plays every game in 2025 and 2026, Johnson could surpass Kelce’s 205-start record, a milestone well within his grasp.
With another Super Bowl in sight and a potential Hall of Fame induction looming, Johnson remains focused on the present. The Eagles are poised to contend, and he’s determined to prove he has more to offer. For a player long regarded as one of the NFL’s elite offensive tackles, the notion that he’s just now reaching his peak may sound outrageous—but Lane Johnson is making believers out of Eagles fans and doubters alike.