Today, after over eight years in the National Football League, Calvin ‘Megatron’ Johnson announced that he will be quitting pro football.
Rumours have been flying around since the final game of the regular season, in which the Detroit Lions defeated the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, that Calvin would be calling it a day and after much speculation, he has decided to do just that.
He has been Detroit’s franchise player for a number of years since being drafted second overall in the 2007 NFL Draft.
He holds the NFL record for receiving yards in a season but was unable to get Detroit a playoff win, with the Lions last win in the postseason coming in 1991 against the Dallas Cowboys.
It is a sad day for many Lions fans, who see another of their all-time greats leave the game early, after Barry Sanders left the Lions in 1999 after falling out of love with the game whilst on the verge of breaking the NFL all-time rushing record.
We’ve created a timeline of Megatron’s career in pictures in honour of one of the greatest players of all time.
Georgia Tech
Whilst at college, Johnson had over 178 receptions, 2,927 yards receiving (a record that he still holds today) and 28 touchdowns.
Drafted
Calvin was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 2007 second. The first pick that year was QB JaMarcus Russell who went to the Oakland Raiders.
Whatever happened to him?
Tough few seasons
“Megatron” as he was dubbed by fellow Lion Roy Williams, had a few difficult seasons in Detroit. Things bottomed out for the Lions when they slumped to an 0-16 season in 2008.
The 'Calvin Johnson' Rule
In 2010, Calvin Johnson helped create the rule to decide when a catch is a catch.
Megatron thought he’d caught the game-winning touchdown against the Bears on opening day but it was ruled incomplete on the grounds that Johnson had not maintained possession of the ball through the entire process of the catch.
The Recieving Record
Against the Atlanta Falcons on December 22, 2012, Calvin broke the single season receiving yards total that was previously held by Jerry Rice.
Megatron had over 1,964 yards in the 2012 season.
Franchise Records
Against the Dallas Cowboys in 2013, Johnson finished the game with 329 receiving yards and one touchdown. This broke the Lions franchise record and also the highest receiving yardage in a regulation-length game and the second-highest overall single-game yardage in NFL history.
10,000 receiving yards
Johnson became the fastest ever player to reach 10,000 receiving yards in 2014 and was named to his fifth pro bowl in succession, the most for a Lion since Barry Sanders.
Playoff heartbreak
Calvin Johnson would never grace the Superbowl or even get a playoff win. In his two attempts with the Lions, Calvin failed to even get past the NFC Wildcard round.
One last season
Johnson’s final year in the NFL saw him finish the season with 88 receptions for 1,214 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, reaching 1,000-yards receiving for the sixth consecutive year in the NFL, and seventh time in nine years.
Retirement
Johnson retired on the 8th March 2015, with his final Lions game being a win over the Bears.
Everyone at Read American Football salutes a fine career by a fine player.