5 reasons Calvin Johnson is a first ballot Hall of Famer

4. He has played through nagging injuries

Fractured ribs, sprained right ACL, sprained thigh, three fractured fingers, played through partially torn PCL, severe swelling caused by the PCL injury, high ankle sprain, high ankle sprain, and dislocated finger that required surgery. This is a list of football injuries should be spread across a handful of players, but these are all injuries that Johnson has suffered over his nine year career.

Along with playing on the worst team in NFL history in 2008, Johnson has dealt with nagging injuries that usually sideline wide receivers for weeks, sometimes months. Johnson has missed a total of nine games over his nine year career, but he has played through injuries in countless games over that nine year span in a time where players are benched for having a cold.

Johnson was able to tough it out in an NFL that is so cautious about its players when it comes to injuries that some players are forced to sit with just simple muscle cramps. Despite the injuries, he was still the most dynamic, game-changing player on the field, even if his teams could never seem to get over the hump. He was also able to set NFL records while playing injured. If that doesn’t define what one of the greatest players ever is, I don’t know what does.