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Calvin Johnson contemplating retirement

texan279

texan279

Hall of Fame
Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson might call it quits.

“Like many players at this stage of their career, I am currently evaluating options for my future,” Johnson said in a statement released by the Lions Wednesday afternoon.

Johnson added that he expects to reach a decision “in the not-too-distant future.”

Johnson has 11,619 receiving yards and 83 touchdowns in his nine-year career. He turned 30 last September.

He was recently selected to his sixth straight Pro Bowl.



http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/01/06/calvin-johnson-contemplating-retirement/
 
Awesome player and he handled his business off the field as well. Too bad he was stuck on that team. I bet other fans said that about Andre Johnson with us.
 
He could be following the example set by Barry Sanders, who had decided that he'd made enough money and didn't want to sacrifice his body anymore for a crappy franchise.
 
CJ's performance has fallen off. Could just be nagging injuries, but you can never can tell with WRs and RBs. He wasn't as explosive this year as he has been in the past, irrespective of stats. I watched a few of his games and he sure didn't look like CJ of old to me.
 
Dude's been battling injuries for the past couple of years. Combined with his past accolades and a potential future playing for the Lions (or team surfing), I agree with DB that he's probably in a Barry Sanders type situation. 'I played well, I made the most of my prime ... and I'll leave on my terms'.
 
ObsiWan said:
I just hope the Patriots don't find a way to lure him to Foxborough
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I sure hope they do. :fingergun:

Don't worry though man, that isn't going to happen. Patriots are way to cheap to pay for a bonafied stud receiver like that. They only grabbed Moss because they got him for a steal in a trade, and that was more like a one time thing. Their Oline is way to massacred for them to invest into a great receiver any way. It would be nice, but there is no way they do that.
 
ObsiWan said:
I just hope the Patriots don't find a way to lure him to Foxborough
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What if the Green Bay Packers find a way to land Calvin Johnson and Jordy Nelson comes back healthy in 2016 after missing the entire 2015 season? All of a sudden Aaron Rodgers will have the major weapons he needs in the passing game.
 
Bulls on Parade said:
What if the Green Bay Packers find a way to land Calvin Johnson and Jordy Nelson comes back healthy in 2016 after missing the entire 2015 season? All of a sudden Aaron Rodgers will have the major weapons he needs in the passing game.
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what if the moon was really made of sour cream and Hoyer was really a good QB? Oh and Manziel was a saint?
 
Bulls on Parade said:
What if the Green Bay Packers find a way to land Calvin Johnson and Jordy Nelson comes back healthy in 2016 after missing the entire 2015 season? All of a sudden Aaron Rodgers will have the major weapons he needs in the passing game.
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yeah ok never mind that
 
Sources: Calvin Johnson told Lions he plans to retire

Detroit Lions star receiver Calvin Johnson told his family and a close circle of friends before last season that 2015 would be his final year in the NFL, and he delivered the same message to coach Jim Caldwell the day after the regular season ended, sources told ESPN.

Caldwell told Johnson not to rush his decision -- to take his time, sources told ESPN. Out of respect to Caldwell, Johnson agreed to do just that, according to sources.

The Lions have not given up hope that Johnson could change his mind, but one person who knows Johnson well said, "He's pretty content with his decision."
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So apparently CJ knew before the season that this would likely be his last. Can't blame the man for wanting to get out in one piece.

Guess the Lions can't really afford to lose Stafford now, unless they just say screw it and go full rebuild. But they brought back Caldwell, so ...
 
I can't imagine it's fun living in Detroit, Michigan, especially now. I get that when you have a lot of money, you are living on your own little island, but it's Detroit, Michigan. Add in that the team sucks and has sucked for many, many years, as well as the injuries that may prevent you from living a normal life into your 30s and 40s, I can see it. He's made a lot of money and accomplished a great deal as an individual, and the Lions are unlikely to part with him this year. That decision makes sense.
 
Can anyone with greater knowledge of contracts than me help me out with something?

People keep saying why don't we lure him to Houston, or why don't the Patriots lure him to Boston.

Is that possible? Can you just "retire" then come back that season for a different team? I told people there is no chance this is allowable, but I actually have no idea and can't find information. The only thing I do know is that he'd have to pay back a decent sum of guaranteed money he's already received that he hasn't completed the contractual time to earn.
 
TexansFTW said:
Can anyone with greater knowledge of contracts than me help me out with something?

People keep saying why don't we lure him to Houston, or why don't the Patriots lure him to Boston.

Is that possible? Can you just "retire" then come back that season for a different team? I told people there is no chance this is allowable, but I actually have no idea and can't find information. The only thing I do know is that he'd have to pay back a decent sum of guaranteed money he's already received that he hasn't completed the contractual time to earn.
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Yes and no. By the rules the Lions own his rights if he un-retired. But there is a trick possible...

If he were to come back, they would have to put him on the roster and have the available cap. So CJ could wait till they've spent planning on him not being there. He shows up ta da - you need $24 mil in cap space or have to waive me. Only then could teams lure him.
 
infantrycak said:
Yes and no. By the rules the Lions own his rights if he un-retired. But there is a trick possible...

If he were to come back, they would have to put him on the roster and have the available cap. So CJ could wait till they've spent planning on him not being there. He shows up ta da - you need $24 mil in cap space or have to waive me. Only then could teams lure him.
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Correct, although while they'll need that $24 mil in cap space if he comes back, they'll need almost $13 million (dead money) if he retires, so the only incremental cap space they'd have to come up with would be about $11 million under the scenario described.

On a related note, if I were an NFL team, and he did that to me, I'd look real hard to see if there was someone in the league willing to give me a box of used whistles and pick up his $16 million salary. Cleveland and Tennessee would top the list of places I'd like to send him.
 
ChampionTexan said:
Correct, although while they'll need that $24 mil in cap space if he comes back, they'll need almost $13 million (dead money) if he retires, so the only incremental cap space they'd have to come up with would be about $11 million under the scenario described.

On a related note, if I were an NFL team, and he did that to me, I'd look real hard to see if there was someone in the league willing to give me a box of used whistles and pick up his $16 million salary. Cleveland and Tennessee would top the list of places I'd like to send him.
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Great stuff both of yall thanks.

To add onto this. As I understand it the Lions could go after Megatron for the remaining bonus money he is forfeiting and use this to clear some of that dead money cap space.

Is that correct or incorrect?
 
TexansFTW said:
Great stuff both of yall thanks.

To add onto this. As I understand it the Lions could go after Megatron for the remaining bonus money he is forfeiting and use this to clear some of that dead money cap space.

Is that correct or incorrect?
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That's correct - if they get back the money (And the only portion even eligible for recovery as I understand it is $3.2 Million in prorated bonus), then the $13 Million in my original post drops to a bit under $10 Million. However, for that to happen, Detroit must first decide they even want to attempt to get it back, and if they do, they must actually receive the cash from Johnson for it to reduce the dead money.
 
ChampionTexan said:
That's correct - if they get back the money (And the only portion even eligible for recovery as I understand it is $3.2 Million in prorated bonus), then the $13 Million in my original post drops to a bit under $10 Million. However, for that to happen, Detroit must first decide they even want to attempt to get it back, and if they do, they must actually receive the cash from Johnson for it to reduce the dead money.
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And if they elect to make him a June 1st cut and then he reverses the number goes up - by approx $10 mil iirc.
 
Great career but short-lived.

There seems to be a trend towards players being done with the NFL before the NFL is done with them.
 
Calvin Johnson finally admits he retired in part because the Lions stunk
Shutdown Corner • Frank Schwab • 6 hours ago




Everyone assumed Calvin Johnson’s reasons for retiring included the constant losing with the Detroit Lions.


He avoided answering that directly for a long time, instead sticking to his answer that the physical toll on his body was too much and that’s why he stepped away. But now, about a year-and-a-half into retirement, he confirmed that the constant losing was a factor.

Johnson stomped on the Lions during a news conference in Italy, where he was presenting the game ball for the American football championship game in the country, Italian Bowl XXXVII.

“I was stuck in my contract with Detroit, and they told me, they would not release my contract, so I would have to come back to them,” Johnson said, via ESPN. “I didn’t see the chance for them to win a Super Bowl at the time, and for the work I was putting in, it wasn’t worth my time to keep on beating my head against the wall and not going anywhere.”
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https://www.yahoo.com/sports/calvin-johnson-finally-admits-retired-part-lions-stunk-130416328.htmlJust
 
Double Barrel said:
Who can blame him? If he was financially smart, he should be set for life. So why continue to degrade your body for a franchise that consistently sucks?
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What gets me as a franchise. Why didnt the lions honor his request (and same with sanders)to trade them and hopefully rebuild given the shape they were in at the time. I figure tbey could have gotten a decent haul with draft picks and who knows what.
 
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Wolf said:
What gets me as a franchise. Why didnt the lions honor his request (and same with sanders)to trade them and hopefully rebuild given the shape they were in at the time. I figure tbey could have gotten a decent haul with draft picks and who knows what.
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Because they're the Lions - one playoff win since 1957. People here rag on McNair and the Texans? Try Lions football.
 
Speedy said:
Because they're the Lions - one playoff win since 1957. People here rag on McNair and the Texans? Try Lions football.
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If the Texans were as bad as many of the posters here claim, players would retire the second the Texans drafted them.
 
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