During his time with the Detroit Lions, superstar wide receiver Calvin Johnson was considered one of the elite players in the NFL at his position and perhaps one of the greatest players to ever play the game.
Despite being among the elite class of NFL wide receivers, Johnson chose to play only nine seasons in the league because he grew tired of constantly nursing injuries and never truly being 100 percent during the season with the Lions.
This was the second time that a superstar on offense in Detroit chose to retire much earlier than anticipated despite making the Pro Bowl on an annual basis, with Lions running back Barry Sanders walking away from the game unexpectedly after 10 seasons with the team.
Even though controversy has surrounded both superstars for their early retirements as some believed they grew tired of being unable to compete for a Super Bowl title in Detroit and were not given the opportunity to play elsewhere, Sanders and Johnson are revered as arguably the two best players to ever play for the Lions.
Now it appears Johnson, who is already a Hall of Famer along with Sanders, will be honored by his former team with the Lions putting him in the Ring of Honor, which made him quite emotional recently when he found out via Kay Adams.
The moment HOF’er @calvinjohnsonjr found out about being inducted into the @Lions Ring of Honor. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/YIbXFIr3CI
— Kay Adams (@heykayadams) July 15, 2024
With Johnson being the face of the franchise for nearly a decade and widely considered to be one of the best wide receivers of all time, this is the least the Lions could do for him in his post-playing days.
During his stint with the Lions, Johnson caught 731 passes for 11,619 receiving yards and 83 touchdowns.
