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After all the speculation and articles, many which said he would retire, Lions star wide receiver Calvin Johnson did just that.
In a very low key way, Johnson issued a statement Tuesday that's on the Lions' website:
“Let me begin by apologizing for making this announcement via a statement and not in person. While I truly respect the significance of this, those who know me best will understand and not be surprised that I choose not to have a press conference for this announcement.
“After much prayer, thought and discussion with loved ones, I have made the difficult decision to retire from the Lions and pro football. I have played my last game of football.
“Let me assure you that this was not an easy or hasty decision. As I stated, I, along with those closest to me, have put a lot of time, deliberation and prayer into this decision and I truly am at peace with it.
“I also want you to know that I have the utmost respect and admiration for the game of football. It has provided so much for me and my family and I will be forever grateful to the game.
Mike O'Hara, a former Detroit News writer who now reports for the Detroit Lions website, writes:
Calvin Johnson belongs in the upper class of ultra-elite performers whose value and body of work in any endeavor cannot be measured by traditional standards.
Stats, rankings, awards and records – and Johnson compiled many of them -- do not adequately categorize his impact on the game and what he accomplished as the NFL’s most dominant wide receiver in his nine-year career, all of it with the Detroit Lions.
As Johnson steps into retirement at the comparatively young age of 30, he departs with a pristine reputation of commanding excellence on the field and spotless character in his private life.
Above all as a player, he is leaving the game on his own terms while still capable of producing more good seasons. No one will wish him well in one breath and mutter in the next that he overstayed his welcome.
Far from it. If anything, he left us wanting more.
