Stephen A. Smith's walks back comments on Eagles lineman's mental health

Chris Bumbaca, USA TODAYWed, October 7, 2026 at 7:05 PM UTC

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Stephen A. Smith criticized former Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson for retiring after the lineman citied a desire to focus on his family and mental health four games into the 2026 season.

“He went like this, ‘You know what? I’m gonna call it quits,'” Smith said on ESPN's "First Take" Wednesday, Oct. 7. “Now, he calls it quits. Not before the season. Not in the offseason. Oh, no, no, no, no! After being subjected to this, he said, ‘Life is a little bit too short. I need to focus’ — what did he say? His mental health? Am I making it up?”

Smith wasn't done.

"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,'" Smith said.

After opining that the Eagles, 2-2 through four games and underperforming on the offensive side of the ball (in no small part due to injuries to multiple key players), Smith reverted back to the mental-health critique.

"And 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," Smith said.

Johnson, a five-time All-Pro who spent 14 seasons with the Eagles, wrote in his social-media statement announcing his retirement that he desperately tried to "gut it out" for one more season with his teammates but was ultimately unable to. He missed the team's Week 4 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

"But after a lot of reflection, I’ve realized that my personal and family priorities have changed. Right now it is critical that I focus on my mental health," he wrote.

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Eagles coaches, players and owner Jeffrey Lurie have overwhelmingly supported Johnson over the past couple of months and dating back to his mental-health struggles from years earlier, which he had been forthright and open about publicly in the past.

Smith apparently either forgot about Johnson's history or didn't care. Sitting at the desk was ESPN reporter Kimberly A. Martin, who looked aghast, and commentator Jordan Rodgers quickly pointed out that Johnson cited mental health reasons for stepping away. Even Chris "Mad Dog" Russo pushed back against Smith's rant by noting that the Eagles' record had nothing to do with Johnson's decision.

Johnson missed four days of practice during training camp and told reporters he was helping care for his family, as his mother had been diagnosed with cancer. He also said the 2026 campaign likely would be his last. The Oklahoma native first teased retirement in 2021, when he missed three games for personal reasons and later acknowledged that he had been battling depression and anxiety and suffered withdrawal symptoms after cycling off SSRI antidepressant medication.

Smith eventually tried to walk back his comments, but didn't apologize on the show.

"Let me be very, 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.

He added: "I am saying to you that the Philadelphia Eagles, their situation is so chaotic, so haphazard, it’s not worth it to a lot of people. ... That is what I am talking about. Not him and his mental health. I’m saying this is the situation that the Eagles could drive you to, because the stress ain’t worth it. This is what people don’t understand about this."

On Wednesday afternoon, Smith ended his SiriusXM radio show by addressing the situation once more. He said he was sorry people misconstrued his comments and that he would never minimize mental health as someone who has his own struggles in that area. Smith reiterated that he was joking about the Eagles’ state of disarray and not mocking Johnson.

“I’m not only sensitive to mental-health issues,” said Smith, who described entering depression following the death of his mother in 2017, “I’m very aware of mental-health issues.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Stephen A. Smith's walks back comments on Eagles lineman's mental health

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