Terry Foster: Today Is A Good Day For The Lions, And For Calvin Johnson
By Terry Foster
@TerryFoster971
Today is a good day. Calvin Johnson finally announced that he is retiring from the NFL.
That might seem strange to hear as we talk about one of the best wide receivers of all time. But Johnson is no longer that. He is damaged goods and was never going to be the same guy both physically or mentally.
This is a good day for Johnson, a man who is in great pain. His heart was no longer in it. And when the heart goes it is difficult to get the rest of the body to follow. He is hurt and no longer wants to put forth the effort it takes to become great. The knees, ankles and even the fingers are shot.
He is a young man with money who owes it to his family to be as healthy as he can for them.
This is good for the Lions. They have a new man in Bob Quinn and his job is not to run a team that features Calvin Johnson. His job is to bring a winning team to Ford Field.
Johnson ate up too much salary cap for his declining skills. Now Quinn has a better shot at fielding a team in his image. He can focus on defense, if he wants. He can build a run-and-gun team or he can build one that is better suited to run the football. The Lions hired him because they trust him. Now it is time to put 100 percent faith in this man until he shows he cannot do the job.
Hopefully, that will never happen.
It is also a good day for Quinn. Reports suggest that he put his foot down and demanded an answer from Johnson who appeared willing to drag his feet to the detriment of the team. The Lions needed an answer so they could move on. They demanded it and within a few hours Johnson said he was walking away, something he wanted to do all along.
The Lions, however, don't appear weak. Maybe things are different in Allen Park. We shall see.
Johnson wanted to retire all along. But head coach Jim Caldwell told him to take time to think about it and his agent Bus Cook wanted him to wait so he could position himself to play for other teams if he ever returned.
I never expected Johnson to play next season. I've been told that Johnson considered walking away following the 2014 season but teammates talked him into giving it one more try. He did give it the college try. I wonder if he regrets it.
At some point the injuries will heal and the pain will subside. Johnson will feel like a new man and people will keep trying to bring him back in 2017 just as they did when Barry Sanders retired.
Don't do it Calvin. Enjoy your life. You've got money and relative health walking away from the NFL. There are not many players that can say that.
Count your lucky stars and do not look back.
Let me address two things that came up after I broke the Johnson retirement story.
1. Johnson did not delay things to help Lions sell more season tickets. The man has too much character and would never do this.
2. People believed that Johnson was trying to force the Lions to release him so he could play for another team this season. I believe his agent wanted him to drag his feet so Calvin could play for another team if he decided to return in 2017.
People questioned why he would release a statement that he was considering retirement if he did not have other motives. He only released the statement because I called the Lions after posting a blog that said he was considering retirement. Rather than lie, the man issued a statement in response to my reporting. I respect him for that because like may athletes Calvin could have lied and made me look foolish.
He did not. He issued a statement along with the Lions.
That is the truth my friends.
(Foster can be reached at Terry.Foster@cbsradio.com)