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Emmanuel Acho, ex-Eagles LB, calls out Stephen A. Smith's Lane Johnson take 1
Stephen A. Smith tied Lane Johnson’s sudden retirement to the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2-2 start on ESPN’s First Take on Wednesday, and some of the sharpest responses came from people who have been around the right tackle for years.
Johnson announced on Tuesday that he was leaving the NFL in the middle of his 14th season, two days after he was a surprise inactive for a 24-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
In a statement posted to social media, Johnson wrote:
“I deeply wanted to gut it out for one more year; to take the field with my brothers for one last season. But after a lot of reflection, I’ve realized that my personal and family priorities in my life have changed. Right now, it is critical that I focus on my mental health. I owe it to my teammates, coaches, the organization and the fans to have my head and heart 100 percent in the game.”
Nov 3, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith looks on before the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Arizona Cardinals at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Nov 3, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith looks on before the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Arizona Cardinals at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
On First Take, Smith argued that a winning team would have kept Johnson on the field, and he mimicked the wording of that statement as he made the case.
“You walk away because it’s a very, very, very bad situation, and it doesn’t look to be getting any better. This brother said, ‘Hey, my life matters. It’s time. I’m gonna call it quits. My mental health, my mental.’ Lord. That’s trouble for the Philadelphia Eagles, and everybody in the city of brotherly love knows it.”
“Now he calls it quits, not before the season. Not in the offseason…four games into the 2026 season, a dude that has been in the league forever, sits back and says I need to focus on my mental health” – Stephen A. Smith on Lane Johnson retiring https://t.co/itUSL5LrVt
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 7, 2026
ESPN’s Kimberley A. Martin raised concerns on set that Smith was making light of Johnson’s situation. Smith thanked her and reframed his point.
“Let me be very clear, and specific about what I’m saying. I would never make light of mental health issues. I’m making light of the Philadelphia Eagles trashy situation right now,” Smith said. “If you choose to walk away, that’s about the Eagles. That is what I am talking about, not him and his mental health.”
The clarification moved the joke off Johnson’s health while keeping the claim underneath it, that losing football drove him out. Emmanuel Acho, who played linebacker for the Eagles while Johnson was breaking in at right tackle and now hosts the Speakeasy show on YouTube, went after Smith’s claim on X.
“Stephen A., if you know Lane at all, you would know the Eagles record has NOTHING to do with his retirement. He’s a 2X SB champ & 1st ballot HOF’er. Implying he retired b/c of losses is unfair & dangerous,” Acho wrote.
I knew somebody was going to have this terrible take about Lane retiring
Stephen A., if you know Lane at all, you would know the Eagles record has *NOTHING* to do with his retirement. He’s a 2X SB champ & 1st ballot HOF’er. Implying he retired b/c of losses is unfair & dangerous
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) October 7, 2026
Johnson laid out the off-field pressures in August, when he told reporters at training camp that 2026 would probably be his final season after missing four practices for personal reasons. “As you get older, things change in your life, priorities. Your children get older, your parents get older, it just puts things into perspective,” he said.
His mother, Ray Ann, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and Johnson said that summer his father needed him as well.
This week also follows the same order as October 2021, when Johnson was a surprise inactive before a game against the Kansas City Chiefs with the team citing a personal matter. He missed three games and returned with a statement that said, “Depression and anxiety are things I’ve dealt with for a long time and have kept hidden from my friends and family.”
He has since told that story at mental health clinics in the Philadelphia area. Tuesday’s statement points to the same place, his health and his family, and says nothing about the standings.
Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson (65) speaks with the media at Jefferson Health Training Complex.
Jun 9, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson (65) speaks with the media at Jefferson Health Training Complex. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
What Stephen A. Smith said about depression five years ago
In 2021, on the fourth anniversary of his mother’s death from cancer, Smith used a First Take segment on Naomi Osaka’s French Open withdrawal to describe his own grief.
“Anxiety wasn’t my issue, but of course I was devastatingly depressed. I was in therapy for three years, because that’s how devastated I had been,” Smith said.
Two years later, discussing Dak Prescott’s history with anxiety and depression on his own show, Smith said a friend had urged him to show the quarterback compassion, and he again described going to therapy after his mother died.
Among those who criticized his view is Philadelphia sports commentator Chase Senior, who raised that history on X Wednesday, noting that Johnson’s mother has cancer, his father is also sick, and Smith had been open about needing therapy and time away from work after his own mother’s illness and death. “Come on, man. I know you’re busy, but do some research before going on TV,” Senior wrote.
Hey, Stephen A. Smith:
Lane Johnson’s mom has cancer. His dad is also sick. I read your book and you talked about how difficult your life got when your mom got sick and after she passed, you had to go to therapy because you were depressed and you took time off of work.
Your mocking Lane Johnson’s mental health struggles when you’ve been open about your own mental health struggles?
Come on, man. I know you’re busy, but do some research before going on TV @stephenasmith
#Eagles
— Chase Senior (@Chase_Senior) October 7, 2026
Smith explained in a 2023 interview with Clay Travis, recounted by Awful Announcing, how he knew he needed help after losing his mother: “I’m saying things, I’m getting sharp with my tongue, I’m not having the level of compassion that I know that I feel in my heart.”