For nine seasons, former Lions great Calvin Johnson called Detroit his home. As a member of the Detroit Lions, Johnson racked up 11,619 receiving yards and 84 total touchdowns in his career. Let’s face it, he was unstoppable when he was healthy and he certainly earned the nickname, “Megatron.”
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But following the 2015 season, Johnson made the decision to hang up his cleats and to walk away from the game of football. His body had been beaten and battered long enough and he was content to move on, despite still being one of the most dominant receivers in the game.
Since leaving, there have been numerous reports about bad blood between Johnson and the Detroit Lions. So it came as a bit of a surprise when multiple fans claimed to have seen Calvin at Ford Field for the Lions home opener on Monday Night Football against the Jets.
Now, those rumors have been confirmed by Lions president Rod Wood.
In a recent piece in the Associated Press which focused on Barry Sanders, Wood revealed that Calvin Johnson was, in fact, in attendance for the Jets’ game.
From Associated Press:
“As Sanders was the honored guest in Wood’s suite for a game earlier this month, Johnson was in a nearby luxury box on the same floor.
“I know Lions fans appreciate Barry’s role with the team because he’s the greatest Lion and one of the greatest running backs — if not the greatest — to play the game,” said Johnson, who declined to talk about his relationship with the team.
Lomas Brown believes time will take care of whatever issues are keeping Johnson from being a part of the organization in some way.
“If the Lions continue to reaching out to him and being warm to him, I think it’ll happen,” Brown said.
Wood is working on it.
“It’s still goal of the organization, and me in particular, to get Calvin back in the fold,” Wood said. “It was good to see him at the (Jets) game.”
Well, you know what they say…baby steps!
