On Sunday, the sports world received news that one of the greatest receivers of his generations is hanging up his cleats. Calvin Johnson Jr, aka Megatron reportedly told Lions head coach Jim Caldwell that he plans to retire after the 2015-2016 season is over. The news shocked many people because Johnson is still one of the best receivers in the game. He still can put up numbers that many of his contemporaries could only dream of doing. Megatron has not yet put out a reason as to why he has decided to leave the game, but there are many theories as to why he has made this decision. Many speculate that he is leaving due to the many injuries he has sustained throughout his career; others think that Johnson himself doesn’t believe he can put his best foot forward in the league anymore. Regardless of his decision, Calvin Johnson is without a doubt one of the most dominant forces we have ever seen at the wide out position. If not for father time, a few unlucky injuries and possibly some doubt, we might be talking about him being one of the best ever to play the position. His name would probably be synonymous with names like Randy Moss, Chris Carter, Michael Irvin and Lance Alworth. Since this might be the last season we see Johnson let’s look at his career stats.
After his 2009 season where he had just over 900 yards; Calvin Johnson has strung together 6 consecutive 1000 yards seasons including an NFL record 1,964 yards in 2012. Johnson has only played 8 seasons in the league and is already number 27 on the all-time yards list (11,619). He ranks number 19 on the all-time touchdown list (83), and is 2nd all-time in receiving yards per game (86.1). He is one of the most physically imposing players of all time, standing 6’5” and weighing 230 pounds, but he can run like a deer and barring maybe Dez Bryant, he is probably the best receiver after the catch in NFL today. Calvin also holds the records for:
Most receiving yards in a single season: 1,964 yards (2012)
First NFL player in history to have consecutive seasons with at least 1,600 yards receiving (2011, 2012)
Most seasons with 1,600 yards receiving (2, tied with Marvin Harrison and Torry Holt)
Most consecutive games with at least 100 receiving yards (8)
Most consecutive games with at least 10 receptions (4)
Most consecutive games with at least 2 receiving touchdowns (4, tied with Cris Carter)
Most receiving yards in a four-quarter game in NFL history (329 yards)
Most career games with 200+ receiving yards (5, tied with Lance Alworth)
Fastest to 10,000 NFL receiving yards (115 games)
With all of this being said, it’s safe to say that Calvin Johnson is one of the best to ever play the receiver position for the time he played and he will certainly be missed by fans.
Written by Kenny Quinn
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