It took Calvin Johnson nearly three years to like, share and reply to a Lions post on X — from January 2021 — that congratulated him on being named a Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist.
But after Detroit secured its first division title since winning the NFC Central in 1993, Johnson acknowledged the post by writing, “Much appreciated. Thanks for the continuous support! Love my city!”
It marked a strange overlap between the Lions’ victory over the Vikings and Johnson’s delayed response, given that his relationship with the franchise has been strained since a sudden retirement following the 2015 season.
Johnson, at just 30 years old, opted to retire after nine seasons, seven of which ended with him topping 1,000 yards, and six Pro Bowl appearances, but the Lions reportedly made him repay around $1.6 million of his signing bonus.
He told The Post’s Ryan Glasspiegel in February that his relationship with the Lions is “trending up” — though he didn’t reveal whether those strides had anything to do with the financial element of their tension — as the franchise also changed its trajectory under head coach Dan Campbell.
“We’re trying to come together and make something happen,” Johnson told The Post at the time. “Obviously I’d love to be around the team and do more things there and help the guys out. It’s good that we’re moving in the right direction.”
He hosted a high-school football camp at the team’s facility in addition to attending an OTA session and a day of mandatory minicamp in 2023, according to ESPN.
Johnson had emerged as the Lions’ star for nearly a decade, despite playing on some teams that finished with abysmal records.
Detroit won just four games in 2012 when Johnson collected 1,964 receiving yards.
Then, sandwiched in between 7-9 seasons in 2013 and 2015, the Lions earned a berth in just the second — and the final — postseason of Johnson’s career, when they lost to the Cowboys on a late touchdown.
But despite the fractured relationship, the Lions congratulated Johnson with the Jan. 5, 2021 post on X before he was eventually inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame later that year.
Fifteen days following their message to Johnson, the Lions hired Campbell to ignite the franchise, and the gradual strides sparked an 11-4 record and, after Sunday, a home postseason game in January.
“It’s pretty exciting man, it really is,” quarterback Jared Goff told NFL Network postgame. “It’s been a lot of hard work. A long time coming. We have a special group man, we really do. This was hard-fought. It wasn’t pretty there at the end, but we got it done.”
Then, Johnson, one of the franchise’s legends, found a way to get involved in the celebration, too.
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