Calvin Johnson Admits Detroit Lions Losing Drove Him To Retire

Despite being one of the greatest receivers of his generation, Calvin Johnson decided to retire at age 30. The big question for everybody was why?

Initial impressions were health-related. Even though he is a physical monstrosity with a rare mix of size, speed and strength even he has his limits when it comes to pain. Johnson was battling injuries almost constantly during the past two or three seasons of his career. Even though he still managed to churn out solid numbers over that period, there is only so much the human body can take before it says enough. It seemed like Megatron finally reached his.

However, there was also an undercurrent of belief that there was a more obvious reason he decided to walk away. He was tired of losing. In his nine seasons, Johnson played in just two playoff games. Even Barry Sanders, who famously walked away made more trips to January than that. Combine that with the ongoing pain battles and it’s no wonder he left.

At last the six-time Pro Bowler seemed to admit it during an interview with ESPN.

"Johnson gave several reasons for retiring, from current health, to future health worries, concussion concerns and mental fatigue. Megatron also noted that perhaps if Detroit had won more during his career, it would have been more difficult to walk away at 30.“If we would have been a contender it would have been hard to let go,” Johnson said."

There is no doubt that 2015 had the feel of a backbreaking season. The year before the Lions went 11-5 and made the playoffs, coming one bad call away from beating the Dallas Cowboys. So expectations were high going into the next year. It didn’t go as planned. Detroit started out 1-7 through their first eight games. There only victory was a controversy-filled overtime game against Chicago.

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Yet despite all that things looked like they were beginning to turn around after the bye. The Lions stunned the Packers at Lambeau Field, then won back-to-back games against the Eagles and Raiders. There was a sense the momentum was building to a point where they could win out and make the playoffs. Such an idea seemed well-founded towards the end of Week 13 as they led the Packers 23-21 in the final seconds.

That was until a phantom facemask call allowed for Aaron Rodgers to get within range of a Hail Mary throw to the end zone. With zero seconds on the clock, the 61-yard bomb was completed to tight end Richard Rodgers for a touchdown. Green Bay won the game and dropped the Lions to 4-8, all but crushing their playoff hopes. The reaction of Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford told the whole story.

This Hail Mary legitimately made Calvin Johnson retire he never got up after this lol #lions #bums #dontretire https://t.co/mXEIgV7Kun
— Alex B. (@KnicksCentral) January 6, 2016

Those are the moments where the pain, both physical and mental become magnified and it’s likely at that point where the switch in Johnson’s brain flipped to thoughts of retirement. It’s a sad story for such a great player, and yet another reminder of how long-suffering Detroit has been.

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