It wasn't that long ago when Lane Johnson was the youngest offensive lineman on the Philadelphia Eagles.
As the years went by, Johnson saw the departures of some of the players he had looked up to during his early years. Jason Peters, Evan Mathis, Brandon Brooks, and Jason Kelce have all come and gone.
Now, Johnson is the elder statesman of the room.
Even if he doesn't feel like it.
“I’m 35 and I feel like I’m better than when I was 29, 30,” Johnson said. “I had the surgeries, so the games I missed in (20)21, you can clearly see on film I was very hindered with my left foot.
"Now, I feel like I’m getting close to maybe my peak. As weird as it is to say, that’s truly how I feel.”
Johnson has grown into one of the best right tackles in the sport and a borderline Hall-of-Fame talent. Over the years, he has helped develop excellent players as well.
But as he ages, the Eagles aren't necessarily worried about his future retirement decision. After signing an extension this offseason, the All-Pro clarified that he wanted to play for at least another two years.
That means Philadelphia will have an older player who is still performing at an elite level for the next couple of seasons. Johnson feels better than he did when he was even in his prime, which is staggering. …
Although it isn't quite surprising at this rate.