The Detroit Lions have been bad throughout essentially the entirety of their existence. However the scope of that awfulness perhaps can be further measured by more than just an 0-16 season which the Lions managed to accomplish back in 2008.
Case in point, former Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson who pretty much confirmed what everyone already knew.
The Lions were awful and he couldn’t take it anymore.
That’s right, Calvin Johnson who’ll certainly go down as one of the greatest wide receivers of all-time retired because playing for the Lions was no longer worth the effort.
Via ESPN:
“I was stuck in my contract with Detroit, and they told me, they would not release my contract, so I would have to come back to them. I didn’t see the chance for them to win a Super Bowl at the time, and for the work I was putting in, it wasn’t worth my time to keep on beating my head against the wall and not going anywhere.
Aside from the Lions wasting Johnson’s career what perhaps is equally alarming is the fact the Lions front office then (which is the current front office now) had no intention of releasing Megatron from his $8 million dollar deal that went through the 2020 season. The counter-productivity to that is mind blowing… they were going to continue to pay a wide receiver that sum of money which probably meant Matthew Stafford was going to walk after this upcoming season.
Of course we’re dealing with hypotheticals but the course the Lions were taking, even if they were able to hold on to both Stafford and Johnson was essentially to the bottom rung of football. No team is ever successful with the majority of their payroll wrapped up in two offensive players.
And speaking of offensive players, that scope I was talking about before is intensified considering Johnson’s career came to an end in a similar fashion to that of Barry Sanders.
Lions fans – who are old enough – I’m sure can remember the news reports coming out back in July of 1999 when Sanders faxed his retirement letter to the Wichita Eagle leaving behind a career that would’ve netted him the NFL all-time rushing title.
Like Barry, Megatron wasn’t getting any better but he still had plenty of quality football left in him. Likewise too, I’m sure Barry would have played longer if the Lions were in contention for a Super Bowl.
Instead however the Lions and their futility actually accomplished quite an amazing feet that perhaps surpasses 0-16 in pure, unadulterated suck. They were able to destroy the drive of two of the best all-time NFL players. So much so they said fuck it… we’re retiring.
h/t: The Big Lead