Wide receiver Calvin Johnson made his retirement official on Tuesday, ending the speculation that started at the end of the 2015 season by drawing a curtain on a highly productive career.
Johnson’s decision means that General Manager Bob Quinn won’t get a chance to build a roster with the wideout during his first season in Detroit. In a statement released through the team, Quinn called the retirement of star players a “harsh reality” of life in the NFL and said that it left the team “saddened.”
“For the past nine seasons I knew Calvin like the rest of the NFL -- as one of the most dominant players of his generation,” Quinn said. “Not only was he a great player, but he also set a standard of professionalism that everyone in the NFL respected and greatly appreciated. Over the past couple months I was fortunate to get to know him as a person and became even more impressed. While we all are saddened that his playing career is ending, we should cherish what he did on the football field, knowing he was a generational talent that rarely comes along.”
The Lions organization knows the pain of losing a generational talent before anyone expected all too well after watching running back Barry Sanders also play his final NFL game at the age of 30.
