Earlier, a longtime Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson, announced his retirement. The 14-year vet had been dealing with nagging injuries and perhaps more.
Johnson said, in part via a statement on X, that, after 14 years, he had "given it my all," but that "my personal and family priorities in my life have changed” and that"it is critical that I focus on my mental health." He said he "deeply wanted to gut it out for one more year," but "my heart is telling me that it's time to say goodbye to football,” and that he had “made the incredibly difficult decision to retire from the National Football League.”
He called riding up Broad Street "as a World Champion, not once, but twice … the ultimate privilege," thanked Jeffrey Lurie and the Eagles "for taking a chance on a kid from small-town East Texas," and said what matters now is "continuing to focus on my mental health and spending more time with my kids and family." He closed that "Philadelphia will always be home, and I will forever be an Eagle."
Among the first to opine what's next, football-wise, for Johnson is the Hall of Fame was respected writer Doug Farrar. he posted this on X:
Is Farrar right? How about former NFL defensive end who also was a teammate of Johnson who chimed in with this:
Maybe in theory, in the so-called "eye test," they could be right. They are relying on what they saw and, in Farrar's case, talked to. Farrar, over the years, had excellent preseason rankings that he built from his story and polling coaches and players. Kind of "Buchsbaum-esque: if you will. And Johnson always ranked high as he did in the NFL100 polls released every season. Four times he was on the list and was ranked #23 just a season ago.
But in practice, it is unlikely Johnson will be a first-ballot candidate when he becomes eligible. The competition is too tough; the new process has not been tested to see the size of the class it will produce. And Johnson's "paper case" is not as strong as some others.
Let's start there.
If he does not change his mind, his career stands at 14 seasons played and 171 starts, but he missed 46 games. He was injured a lot, was suspended twice and took a needed leave of absence; by Hall of Fame standards, it's a lot.
Jackie Slater missed 44 games and that is the most among Hall of Fame tackles. When Trent Williams becomes eligible, he will be in that same neighborhood, so it's not a first-ballot negation on its face, but it's a question. But he would be at the upper end of absences from games during his career. So, the longevity "box" is not checked, or not checked strongly, like, say, a Joe Thomas, for example.
Hall-of-Fame tackles average 4 consensus All-Pro seasons and seven first- or second-team selections. Johnson has two and five, respectively. Average Pro Bowl seasons for a Gold Jacket tackle is 7.6; Johnson had six. On the other hand, Johnson has two rings; the average Hall of Fame tackle has one. So, there is that.
All that spells Hall of Fame but does not scream "First-ballot," does it? But in general, the basic case for inclusion at some point is reasonable.
He spent all 14 seasons in Philadelphia after the Eagles took him fourth overall in 2013. He started 171 regular-season games, made six Pro Bowls, and was named All-Pro three times: first team in 2017 (AP, PFWA) and 2022 (AP, PFWA, TSN, NFLPA), second team in 2021 (AP), 2023 (NFLPA) and 2024 (TSN). He was also second-team AP in 2023 and 2024 for those who are "AP only," and you can throw in that in 2022 he was PFF's Offensive Lineman of the Year.
He started on two Super Bowl winners, LII and LIX, and played in a third. He is the only offensive tackle in the last 25 years with multiple first-team All-Pros and multiple rings per X reports.
The pass-protection record is the part that separates him from a good tackle with honors. In the PFF era and using their measurements, he holds the tackle records for consecutive pass-block snaps without a sack (1,405, Week 11 of 2020 through Week 9 of 2023) and without a sack or quarterback hit (961). He played the island side, usually without help, against the other team’s best edge rusher. Philadelphia was a different offense when he was in the lineup. He was athletic for his position, "help or not" and had an innovative kick step that was fascinating to watch.
The counter is real and should be stated. He was suspended four games in 2014 and ten in 2016 for performance-enhancing drugs. In a July 2019 interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia's John Clark.
The full original quote: "It doesn't matter if I make 7 Pro Bowls. As far as the Hall of Fame. I don't think I deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. Even if I did accomplish those things. Because of my suspensions. I don’t think it would be right."
The 2019 Tweet:
Some may agree and may treat those suspensions as disqualifying, at least for getting in right away. If players are suspended for PEDs or even the players not suspended, whoever they may be. Voters are not naive; they know Johnson is not the only one.
Maybe someone will see Johnson's own words as a Jedi mind trick: "I am not the Hall of Famer you are looking for." Or, they may realize that Johnson played some of his best football after he said that and may not think that anymore. It's anyone's guess.
For the new voters, some who are younger than those they replaced, my look at the PFF grades. Whether that is wise or not is another question, but PFF does a decent job of tracking things like hits and hurries and conversely, hits and hurries allowed.
Here is a summation of those numbers. You can decide for yourself what weight they have in your mind. 
Here is a table of modern Hall of Fame tackles and a select group of those not in, some not yet elible, including Lane Johnson. A "one-stop shopping" list of the "alls."
In 2032, voters will weigh the body of work—a decade as the standard right tackle, five All-Pros, two championships, and the cleanest pass-protection stretch of any tackle in the charting era— and make form their case in their heads.
Some may have a straightforward first-ballot case. Others? Not so much. We'll see.
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