ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Calvin Johnson's walking away from the NFL just as Barry Sanders and Jim Brown did, leaving with productive years still left in him instead of waiting until it might be too late.
Sanders and Brown were two of the best running backs to play the game and are in the Hall of Fame. Johnson could join them one day -- the clock starts now, following his retirement announcement Tuesday. And like Sanders and Brown, the 30-year-old Johnson is ending his career on his own, without his final memory being an injury or an unsatisfactory season or wearing an unfamiliar jersey.
He’s coming off a season in which he produced more than 1,200 yards, earned a Pro Bowl berth and was the focal point of the Lions' offense. He’s leaving with 15 NFL records.
As the face of the franchise, Johnson was the connection who kept the often-listless Lions relevant for the rest of the nation, which eagerly waited to see what eye-popping play he could come up with next.
There’s a whole batch of them. There are catches with three defenders all over him, and with him outrunning or leaping over defensive backs.
Yet, like so many others, Johnson’s body started to give way. He dealt with ankle, knee and finger injuries over the past three seasons. He missed games and practiced less than he would have preferred. It took longer for him to recover after a game. It took more to get ready for a week, let alone a season.
From an individual standpoint, he had accomplished almost everything. He set NFL records. He made a city fall in love with him. He was the consummate professional. He worked hard. He didn’t boast. He let his play -- 731 career catches, 11,619 yards, 83 touchdowns, seven 1,000-yard seasons -- define him. He quietly did a lot for the community, establishing a foundation that focused on helping children in both Detroit and his hometown of Atlanta.
From a team standpoint, Johnson’s career feels incomplete. That might hurt him more than anything. In nine seasons, he reached the playoffs twice. He never won a division title and never won a playoff game. Like every other player who spent his entire career with the Lions, he never reached the Super Bowl.
He had just two winning seasons in the NFL; yet all he wanted was to win in Detroit. He felt that way at the beginning of his career. He felt that way at the 2015 trade deadline, when he was mentioned as a possible trade candidate. He felt that way until the end, when he said he wanted to play his entire career in Detroit. Now he’s making sure that happens, walking away on his own terms.
There were signs toward the end of the season that this was a possibility. The way Johnson’s teammates celebrated his last touchdown at home against San Francisco in Week 16. The embrace he had with quarterback Matthew Stafford after the season finale against Chicago. The fact that he kept the footballs from his final two touchdowns -- scored in his final two games -- spoke volumes.
Johnson dismissed it at the time, but knowing what we know now, that was clearly more than a coincidence.
Even the way his teammates talked about him after that win over the 49ers, recognizing that he was the face of the franchise and the epitome of what you’d want in a superstar, was telling.
So was this quote from backup quarterback Dan Orlovsky, who threw Johnson some of his early touchdown passes:
“Our culture likes the impossible, that doesn’t make sense, that’s incredible, the no, no, no, that didn’t happen. To be that guy and to do it with class and such hard work. I hope that the people of Detroit, the fans of the Lions, haven’t taken it for granted. Because eventually, I don’t know if it’s a year from now or five years from now, he ain’t going to be here.”
That day has arrived. Johnson is now retired. He’ll be remembered and revered for a long time, possibly as long as football is played.
And he leaves with a question for himself and for the franchise he has been the face of for almost a decade: What comes next?