Sunday afternoon, Adam Schefter of the NFL Network reported that Calvin Johnson informed Lions' head coach Jim Caldwell that 2015 was his last season. A statement to which I assume Jim Caldwell responded by giving Megatron his classic Caldwell face which is a mixture between "I just saw a ghost" and "I literally have no idea what I'm doing out here." It's no secret that Calvin was unhappy in Detroit this past season — he was rarely used. Instead, the Lions relied on the brute force ground and pound game of Zach Zenner, and the aerial assault of Matty Stafford connecting on 3-yard slant routes to Lance Moore. They more or less used Calvin as a decoy, sometimes only giving him as little as 2-3 targets in a half. It reminded me of the classic Chicago Bulls teams in the '90s when Phil Jackson would say, "hey Michael Jordan, we're not going to give you the ball, instead I just want you to pass it to Will Perdue every time." Of course, there were some games where vintage Calvin would explode and everyone would be reminded of what we were missing out on— well, everyone except Jim Caldwell and Jim Bob Cooter (yes, that's his real name).
You can't hear of this news and not think of how similar the situation is to Barry Sanders. The hall of fame running back who also played for the Lions and retired— some say in his prime — at an early age. I personally think Barry and Calvin should play a 2 on 11 loser-leaves-town game vs the 2016 Lions roster. Wait, they need a quarterback don't they ... heck I'm sure Joey Harrington isn't busy. He can probably get a day off at the Auburn Hills Chili's he works at, right?
In the end, I have a small amount of hope that Megatron comes out of retirement— ala the aforementioned Michael Jordan —and goes to another team and ends his (hopefully) hall of fame career in style. If Calvin came back and played against the Lions, I personally guarantee he has at least 26 catches for at least 750 yards and nine touchdowns. AT LEAST.
Hopefully, Calvin's short career doesn't hurt his chances of being inducted into the Hall of Fame. He is the franchise leader for the Lions in receptions, touchdowns, receiving yards, and receiving yards a game. He was the best wide receiver in all of football in his prime, and it's really sad to see him go out this way, on such short notice.
Thanks for the memories, Calvin. I'm sure Barry Sanders is whipping you up a margarita in his private jet as I type this.
