Detroit Lions Great Calvin Johnson Retires

Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson, holder of most of the Lions’ records for receivers, has called it a career. Johnson, 30, had been contemplating this move since the end of the season and pulled the trigger on March 8th.

Johnson ‘s best season was 2012, when he had 122 receptions for 1964 yards, setting the NFL record for single season receiving yards. In 2011, he had 1681 yards and 16 touchdowns. All told, Johnson scored 83 touchdowns in his nine year career, and had 11,619 yards. Although he never played in fewer than 13 games per season, Johnson played through a lot of injuries, and this is believed by many to be a big factor in the decision. Johnson also had the misfortune of playing on some pretty lousy Lions teams; they reached the playoffs only twice in his career and were one game and done each time.

Johnson isn’t the first Lions great to retire at early at age 30; Barry Sanders did the same thing. He retired after a very productive 1998 season. Sanders also played for some lousy Lions teams (is there a pattern here or at least a common denominator?); he played in just one playoff game.

With the free agent signing period now open, Detroit moved quickly to fill the void. According to ESPN, Detroit will sign ex Bengals WR Marvin Jones, who had 65 catches for 816 yards in 2015.

Here’s video of some Calvin Johnson highlights