Eagles Have Options With Lane Johnson's Contract, But Would They Mess With a Legend?

With Philadelphia Eagles superstar lineman Lane Johnson announcing his retirement earlier in the week, citing mental health as the reason, it's interesting to consider what the organization might do with his cap hit. 

The Eagles aren't necessarily in a position to mess with a franchise legend, especially one who cited mental health issues, but at the end of the day, this is a business, and if the Eagles want to go that route, it's very possible they will.

It'll be interesting to see which direction the Eagles want to go, with the latest report suggesting it's possible. 

However, much of it is more difficult than it really seems. 

Other teams have done this in the past with franchise legends, including the Detroit Lions with Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson.

“The Eagles also will have the prerogative to seek reimbursement of previously-received payments by Johnson. It gets complicated; they can recover unallocated signing bonus money and a portion of his 2026 option bonus of $21.7 million (only half of it has been paid). And recovery of the amounts they’re entitled to pursue would be credited against the dead-money charges.

“First, the Eagles have to decide whether they want to try to take money back from a first-ballot Hall of Famer who has meant so much to the team. While the Lions did it with both Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders and Hall of Fame receiver Calvin Johnson, the Eagles may choose not to alienate such an important player by asking him to give money back,” Mike Florio wrote.

A lot of this is going to come from the business side of things for the Eagles, as they ultimately have to worry about themselves. 

If Philadelphia believes that it is in the right and wants to do wrong by Johnson, so to say, it's possible they go in that direction. 

There's also a scenario where Johnson understands why he isn't getting his money and is okay with what Philadelphia could end up doing in the future. 

A lot has to happen here, but the Eagles aren't exactly in a perfect position. 

Either they're going to mess with a franchise legend, or they're going to have to pay him for the foreseeable future without him being on the roster.