Calvin Johnson says he may have stayed if Lions were contenders

Recently retired wide receiver Calvin Johnson told one ESPN reporter that he may have thought about staying if the Detroit Lions were actual contenders.

For the second time in the last two decades, the Detroit Lions found themselves dealing with the sudden retirement of arguably the best player on their roster when wide receiver Calvin Johnson called it a career after just nine seasons.

Much like legendary running back Barry Sanders did nearly 20 years before, Johnson left with some good years left in him in part due to injuries that take their toll on a pro football player after nearly a decade.

At the same time, Johnson would have plenty of time to recover in the offseason as the Lions went to the playoffs just twice in his career, losing both times in the Wild Card round. In an interview with ESPN’s Michael Smith airing Thursday, Johnson admitted that the team’s inability to win consistently did play a factor:

"“If we would’ve been a contender, it would have been harder to let go.”"

At the same time, Johnson was clear that his health was the main factor and expressed the struggles he goes with on a daily basis at the age of 30:

"“When you wake up in the morning, you can’t walk. You know, you’re shufflin’ across the floor. … I gotta go through, like, a little routine when I wake up in the morning to get everything functioning and ready to go.”"

You can watch the complete interview at 10 PM ET. Even the biggest cynic would be hard to fault Johnson, who gave everything on the field during his nine seasons, for hanging it up if things are already getting bad with his whole life in front of him.

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