Nolan Bianchi– Detroit News
The Detroit Lions on Monday announced former wide receiver and Pro Football Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson will be inducted into the Pride of the Lions at halftime of the team’s Sept. 30 home game against the Seattle Seahawks on “Monday Night Football.”
Pride of the Lions is a permanent display at Ford Field honoring the greatest players in franchise history. Recent inductees include offensive tackle Lomas Brown and linebacker Chris Spielman.
“We are thrilled to add Calvin Johnson Jr. to the Pride of the Lions,” Lions president Rod Wood said in a statement. “His commitment on the field and to the city of Detroit are legendary and this is a well-deserved honor. We are proud that he will be forever memorialized inside Ford Field and as a Detroit Lion.”
Johnson was surprised with the honor Monday morning by Lions chief operating officer Mike Disner at the Calvin Johnson Jr. Foundation Celebrity Golf outing at Detroit Golf Club.
The gesture continues to show a renewed correspondence between Johnson and the Lions, which entered a contentious relationship when Johnson was asked to pay back $1.6 million in signing bonuses after retiring early. Mending of the relationship has been apparent since 2023, when Johnson began attending Lions practices and could be seen at a handful of games, including the team’s playoff win over the Los Angeles Rams — and Johnson’s quarterback in Detroit, Matthew Stafford — earlier this year.
Johnson, the No. 2 overall pick out of Georgia Tech in 2007, played 135 games for the Lions over his nine-year career and owns the single-season receiving yardage record (1,964 in 2012). He holds franchise records in career receptions (731), receiving yards (11,619) and receiving touchdowns (83).
In 2021, Johnson became the seventh wide receiver in NFL history and the second player in Lions history to be a first-ballot inductee to the Hall of Fame. In addition to being selected for the NFL’s 2010 All-Decade team, Johnson was named to three first-team All-Pros and one second team. He made six Pro Bowls.
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