Does Calvin Johnson Owe The Lions An Answer Today?; Which Free Agents Should The Lions Target?
By: Evan Jankens
@kingofthekc
Peyton Manning is set to announce his retirement at 1 p.m. Monday afternoon.
On the heels of that news, Detroit Lions Calvin Johnson still hasn't informed the Detroit Lions whether he'll retire.
"Do you think Peyton Manning having an announcement, in any way influences Calvin just to expedite the process here and let the Lions know?" 97.1 The Ticket host Doug Karsch asked Scott "Gator" Anderson.
Anderson answered with a resounding "no."
"If it does affect, it doesn't affect in a negative way," he said. "I think it just shows there is another guy, who is going to go right to the Hall of Fame if he decides to call it a career."
On the other hand, the announcement could have a positive impact on Megatron's planning, Anderson added.
"One of the potential positive effects it would have on Calvin is the way that Peyton Manning went out. He went out a champion and went out on his terms. He had the serious injury, career threatening injury a few years ago with the neck, thought he would give it another go, played with Denver, got them all the way to the Super Bowl, had a tremendous season getting them to a Super Bowl but fell well short. A couple of years later finds himself right back in the same spot and wins.
"The potential positive is that Calvin may not be done," Anderson continued. " Maybe he sees that and says 'You know what, I don't want to go out because I was hurt, because I was injured when I know I have more to give and I want more. I want to have the chance to catch the pass in a playoff game that puts us on top and gets us to the next round or even further.' That to me is the potential positive effect out of it but I can't imagine that anything is going to sway his opinion at this point. He has probably already made up his mind. Why he hasn't told anybody what that is yet? In my opinion is because his agent wants him to stay quiet as long as possible and force the Lions to open his opinions as much as possible."
"If Calvin is listening to his agent and is holding out because he is trying to see if there is anything else that he can get out of this," Karsch said, "In my opinion it's not doing him any favors with the fan base. I think he owes them [Lions] a decision and I think he owes them a decision by noon today and I think it's only fair. The next work season starts at noon today and they don't know if they need a wide receiver or how desperately they need a wide receiver."
Monday starts free agency, when agents of the players are able to establish contact with teams.
Karsch and Anderson both gave their opinion on who the Lions should reach out to first.
"Russell Okung, I think he is the top tackle on the free agent market," Anderson said. "You can debate whether or not it's someone else, but whoever the top guy is, I think it might be Rusell Okung. That's the guy that I target."
"First call I would make would be to the agent for Danny Trevathan, the linebacker from the Denver Broncos," Karsch said. "That would be a signing that would come at a decent price. People worry about 3-4 versus 4-3 scheme, one of the teams that Trevathan allegedly is interested in and is also interested in him is Atlanta and they run a 4-3 so it's not that unusual or that off the charts. That would be the first call I would make."
Below are the people I view as the top free agents in the NFL.
Running Back:
Matt Forte
Doug Martin
Lamar Miller
Arian Foster
Chris Ivory
Wide Receiver:
Travis Benjamin
Marvin Jones
Anquan Boldin
Rueben Randle
Percy Harvin
Tight End:
Antonio Gates
Ladarius Green
Dwayne Allen
Vernon Davis
Coby Fleener
Offensive Tackle:
Russell Okung
Andre Smith
Donald Penn
Kelvin Beachum
Mitchell Schwartz
Interior Offensive Line:
Alex Mack
Brandon Brooks
Evan Mathis
Jeff Allen
Richie Incognito
Defensive Linemen:
Malik Jackson
Charles Johnson
Terrance Knighton
Robert Ayers
Ian Williams
Defensive Ends:
Jason Pierre-Paul
Mario Williams
Greg Hardy
Tamba Hali
Bruce Irvin
Linebackers:
Danny Trevathan
Derrick Johnson
Vincent Ray
Chad Greenway
James Laurinaitis
Cornerbacks:
Janoris Jenkins
Prince Amukamara
Sean Smith
Pacman Jones
Brandon Boykin
Safties:
George Iloka
Eric Weddle
Reggie Nelson
Tashaun Gipson
Michael Griffin