Wide Receiver Calvin Johnson is definitely the best player the Lions had since Barry Sanders. Johnson played all nine seasons in Detroit from 2007-2015 and then retired. It seemed smart because he was already hall of fame bound, was getting paid, and left early before suffering the long-term effects of football.
The NFL is entering its 100th season and celebrations will take place with all teams. Former players are expected to join with their old teams but that might not be the case with Johnson. It’s all about money that they owe him in this situation.
“They already know what they got to do,” Johnson said to the Detroit Free Press. “The only way they’re going to get me back is they put that money back in my pocket. Nah, you don’t do that. I don’t care what they say. They can put it back, then they can have me back. That’s the bottom line.”
This is all referring to the Lions forcing Johnson to pay back his signing bonus after he retired. Since then, Johnson hasn’t spoken to team president Rod Wood despite Wood saying repairing the team’s relationship with Johnson is a top priority last month. This could all change if Johnson finally gets that signing bonus he was supposed to get but it seems unlikely now.
Flip the page for highlights of Johnson in Detroit.
