If you have any hope of Calvin Johnson returning to the NFL after his early retirement this past season, you'd best extinguish it right now. And, if anything, you should be thankful that he came back to play in 2015, as he said at a football camp held in Michigan on Saturday that he'd considered retiringfollowing the 2014 season after the Lions' Wildcard Round loss to the Cowboys.
The 30-year-old Johnson retired this past March, though he did so without a press conference to announce it. On Saturday he spoke publicly for the first time about his decision to hang up his cleats for good:
"I know everybody wants to know why I retired, but it's more so I put a lot into the game and it's taken a lot out of me and that's where I'm at right now. I'm not getting into the specifics of the things that it has taken away, but it definitely feels good, I guess I could say for myself, to spend more time around my family, my son, just got married. Things are going good right now."
He said that the reason for calling it quits was not the perpetual losing (Detroit was 54-90 in his career) but because of the beat-down his body had taken. "I wouldn't just quit because we were losing. Just [my] body, man, I was tired of it," he said. "I was fed up. Had enough."
On top of that, he added something that may disappoint Lions fans, though you'd be hard pressed to find a fan base more adjusted to it. "I'm not coming back," he said. "You ain't gotta worry about that."
All told he played nine seasons in the NFL, set the record for most receiving yards in a season in 2012 (1,964), made six Pro Bowls, and played in two stinkin' playoff games, both of which the Lions lost.
To relive the good times, check out this list of the 10 best catches he made in his career.
