Calvin Johnson Expected to Announce an Early Retirement, per Schefter
Calvin Johnson, one of the greatest wide receivers to ever play in the NFL, is expected to announce his retirement. The news was broken by ESPN’s Adam Schefter Sunday night, but news began to trickle out at the end of the season that Johnson was considering hanging it up.
At 31-years old, Johnson is reportedly making this decision so he can walk away from the game relatively healthy. While battling soreness this season, Johnson also dealt with a nagging ankle injury. During his college career at Georgia Tech and nine years in the Motor City, Johnson dealt with a motley of injuries; two ACL sprains, broken ribs, broken fingers, torn PCL, strained thigh muscle, and that nagging ankle injury he dealt with for the past two seasons.
Calvin Johnson told family 2015 would be his final year and delivered same message to Jim Caldwell after season ended, sources told ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 31, 2016
Important to note: Caldwell told Calvin Johnson not to rush decision, to take time. Out of respect to Caldwell, Johnson agreed to do that.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 31, 2016
Drafted by the Detroit Lions with the second overall pick in 2007, Johnson has quickly risen to the status of a possible future Hall of Famer. While he has only played nine seasons, Johnson is 22nd all-time in receiving touchdowns with 83. He is also 27th all-time in receiving yards with 11,619. He has been named to six Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams in his nine years.
Twice, Johnson led the NFL in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. He holds the NFL single-season receiving yards record with 1,964 yards, a record he set just four seasons ago. He also holds the record for most career games with 200+ receiving yards with five; is one of two players in NFL history with 5,000+ receiving yards in a 3-year period; and is the fastest receiver to have 10,000 receiving yards.
He is also the Detroit Lions franchise leader in receiving yards and touchdowns.
Some of our NFL Mocks staff members gave their takes on Johnson’s career, if the reports of his retirement are true.
Rodney Stokes: Sad that such a great receiver never had an opportunity to play in this leagues greatest game. As great as Calvin Johnsons career was it could’ve been even better had he played for a team that had consistency in the front office. The NFL will be sad to see one of the greatest receivers of this generation hang up the cleats.
Matthew Holowiak: First off, the lions are losing ANOTHER top player in their prime. I cannot believe he’s finished. I don’t know if I want to believe he’s actually done or if he’s retiring now so that he can take some time then come back with a new team since no other team would ever touch his contract. Right now, anything is possible. No more megatron, we need to rewatch transformers to see what happens after this bombshell.
Johnson signed a mega-contract a couple of seasons ago worth seven years and over $113 million. He was due to make $24 million this year, but the Lions could save more than half of that if they cut him this offseason. He still has over $80 million left on his deal, which ran until the 2020 season, when he would be 34-years old.
The Lions are now left with an even bigger hole at the wide receiver position. The team is loosing receivers Lance Moore and Corey Fuller to free agency, leaving Golden Tate as the only reliable wide receiver on the Lions roster right now. Drafting at the position early has certainly taken front stage in the Lion’s plans this offseason. They are expected to have around $20 million in cap this offseason.
Stay connected to NFL Mocks as this breaking story continues to develop!