Retirement of Calvin Johnson

As he walks away from the National Football League, the lasting, most fitting memory of Calvin Johnson won’t be a dramatic game-winning touchdown catch.

On second thought, yes it will be. Sort of.

When Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers beat the Detroit Lions with a miracle Hail Mary pass at Ford Field late this season, the camera focused on the Detroit sideline at that precise moment caught Johnson collapsing in what appeared to be a fainting spell.

Really though, after nine seasons as a Lion should such an outcome have caught Johnson by surprise?

Likewise, should anyone with a passing knowledge of what it’s like to be a Lion be at all surprised that Johnson has opted to walk away from the game at 30 with, as Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson told ESPN, “a lot of football left in him?”

Calvin Johnson stats

731 receptions*
11,619 yards*
83 receiving TDs*
46,100 yard receiving games*
86.06 receiving yards per game**
5,200-yard receiving games***
*Lions franchise record
**NFL record (minimum 100 games played)
***NFL record (shared with Lance Alworth)

The moment you heard the news, you immediately thought of Barry Sanders, another famous Lion who quit in his prime when he just couldn’t take it anymore.

This is what playing for the Lions does to a fellow.

It crushes them — physically, emotionally and most of all psychologically.

LaSalle’s Luke Willson of the Seahawks was talking about their win over the Lions this season, when Seattle safety Cam Chancellor punched the ball out of Johnson’s hands a split second before he was to cross the goal line for the winning touchdown.

“That’s so Lions,” Willson remembered telling some of his puzzled teammates on the sideline. “You don’t know,” he explained. “I grew up a Lions fan.”

Willson knew.

Sanders knew. 

And Johnson had to finally admit to himself that he, too, knew it to be true.

My Comment

The retirement of Calvin Johnson or (Megatron) is heart breaking for Lions fans and most of the NFL but it is also blessed to be able to witness such a spectacular football player play the game of football every Sunday live or on television. Calvin is another one of the greats to retire around the age of 30 and still in there prime alongside the hall of fame running back from the Detroit Lions Barry Sanders who retired at the age of 30 as well. Out of the 9 seasons Calvin had with the Lions, he only experienced 2 play off games that ended up in a loss both in the wild card game against the saints in 2011 and the cowboys in 2014. The Lions wont be the same without him