Calvin Johnson: It Would Be 'Lovely' To Finish Career With Lions
By Ashley Scoby
@AshleyScoby
Including those from this season, Calvin Johnson has lost 92 games in his nine-year Lions career. But he still claims he wants to finish out his football-playing years in Detroit.
Johnson was a rumored trade piece before this season's trade deadline. Several have pointed to the wide receiver's mammoth contract as reason to not keep him around as the franchise goes through what is sure to be another rebuild heading into 2016.
And his production is down: Johnson had only one catch against St. Louis last week, and it didn't come until fewer than three minutes remained in the 21-14 loss.
"You definitely think about it," Johnson said of the possibility Sunday that he would not record a catch for the first time in his career. "But the biggest thing is just getting in the end zone and helping your team win. If we're winning it's not that big a deal."
The Lions, of course, aren't winning, and have rarely done so while Johnson has been on the team. Last year's 11-5 team that lost in the wild card round of the playoffs to Dallas was the best year Johnson has had in Detroit since being drafted in 2007.
"You take them (losses), whether it's good or bad, and you keep moving," Johnson said. "It doesn't really change. You definitely want to be able to help the team. An L is an L whether you have 100 yards or one catch."
Johnson has trended more and more towards the "one catch" range than the "100-yard" range recently, from a combination of his own production, poor offensive line play and lack of creativity from Lions play-callers.
He's only had double-digit catches once this season, in Week 2 against the Vikings. In three different games, he had three receptions or fewer, including his one against the Rams. He's broken 100 yards in a game once this season.
As the losses keep mounting and the production keeps lagging, it's no secret Johnson's future in Detroit is in question, especially with a new general manager – and possibly coach – on their way in.
"I'll think about it more when the time comes," he said. "If that time comes, whatever happens happens, but not now. We still have our same coaches and we're going to continue to move forward and all I can worry about right now is the game plan that we have."
When asked if he wanted to finish his career in Detroit, Johnson kept it short and sweet:
"That'd be lovely," he said.
