ALLEN PARK -- It sure sounds like the relationship between Calvin Johnson and the Detroit Lions remains frosty at best.
Lions team president Rod Wood previously said repairing the relationship with the legendary receiver was a priority but admitted not much has changed. Wood spoke with reporters via Zoom Tuesday, touching on a wide variety of topics, including Johnson’s bid for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“I would say nothing’s really changed. We’re very much supportive of Calvin’s candidacy for the Hall of Fame, continue to try to reach out to him, but it’s going to require both of us to get together on that,” Wood said. “It’s not just us. And I don’t want to comment on where we stand with that, but certainly, as I’ve said from the very beginning, that’s my goal.”
The Detroit Free Press reached out to Johnson regarding Wood’s comments, and the receiver reportedly said: “Not that I’m looking for him to, but that’d be totally false if he asserted he reached out to me recently.”
Related: Ex-Lions WR Calvin Johnson 1 step closer to first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Fame induction
Johnson is one of four first-year eligible players among the 25 semifinalists for the hall of fame’s 2021 class. Johnson spent his entire nine-year career with the Lions, finishing with 731 catches for 11,619 yards and 83 touchdowns, all franchise records. He’s a former six-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro, not to mention a member of the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 2010s. This year’s modern-era class will feature between four and eight members, announced the week before the Super Bowl.
With that said, Johnson’s relationship with the Lions has remained rocky since he retired after the 2015 campaign. Detroit asked him to return $1.6 of his $3.2 million signing bonus after he walked away due to injuries and sustained losing. He retired with three years remaining on his deal, meaning the Lions could ask their greatest receiver of all time for money back to alleviate cap space. And that’s what they did. It’s worth remembering this franchise did the same to Barry Sanders when the all-time great suddenly retired, asking for $5.5 million of his $11 million signing bonus.
Compare this move to how the Indianapolis Colts handled Andrew Luck’s sudden retirement, and it’s easy to see how this estrangement has reached nearly five years. The Colts could have asked for Luck to return $12.8 million with two years left on his deal but told their former quarterback they wouldn’t come for his money.
Johnson even went on the record to say the team asked him to change his story concerning a brain injury during his playing days. The Lions issued a statement defending their medical staff and the treatment of player injuries, so yeah, rocky at best.
Related: Calvin Johnson: Lions wanted me to change story about concussion
Wood previously said repairing the relationship with Johnson is a “very high priority,” but not much mutual communication has occurred. Johnson told the Detroit Free Press back in August that there was “no back and forth” with the team. He classified the relationship with the franchise as “nil.” It’s worth noting Johnson participated in a Zoom chat with the team’s receivers last spring but made sure to say that was for receivers coach Robert Prince and the players.
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Not much has changed concerning relationship between Lions and Calvin Johnson - MLive.com
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