Blogs > Lions Lowdown

One thing you can count on with the Detroit Lions is that they are never, ever boring. Follow the latest news including injuries, roster moves and more here daily from Oakland Press beat writer Paula Pasche. Plus you'll find regular commentary about the team.

2/20/2015

Detroit Lions GM not concerned about Calvin Johnson's injuries


INDIANAPOLIS — Calvin Johnson is not going anywhere soon.

Just because he’s 29, it sounds like the Lions have no plans to move on from the wide receiver any time soon.

“Calvin’s a stud. Calvin’s a great player, he’s a phenomenal player. He has a very bright future, a very bright past. I plan on him being around for a long time. He’s a heck of a player,’’ general manager Martin Mayhew told Lions beat writers on Friday.

Johnson missed three games in 2014 with an ankle injury. He finished with 71 catches for 1,077 yards and eight touchdowns.

“Like I said before, sometimes guys get injured. It’s not a big concern for me,’’ Mayhew said. “He’s another guy he gets out there and plays. There was one game this year, I think it was Buffalo, he gutted it out. He got out there and he got another shot that game in exactly the same spot which was unfortunate.

“This guy, he goes to war, he goes to war every week. He gives everything that he has. When you have a guy like that who’s one of the highest paid guys but he’s a great teammate, he’s great in the community and he works the way he works. That’s what you want,’’ Mayhew said.

“Then you have other guys in the locker room who aspire to be like him. They say they want to get paid what he gets paid. They better bring to the table the things he brings to the table.’’

That’s how you want your salary structure, you want to see (Matthew) Stafford, Calvin Johnson, Ndamukong Suh at the top of your pay scale. If you look around the league that’s not always the case. Guys at the top may not be great examples for guys in the locker room, but those three guys really are great examples for the other players we have. 

Johnson has offered to restructure his contract in order to re-sign Suh. Mayhew would not comment on that possibility. Johnson signed an eight-year $150.5 million contract in 2012. 

But Mayhew did not shy away from praising the wide receiver known as Megatron.

“I couldn’t be happier with Calvin, I’m glad I have the opportunity to witness his career because it’s something special,’’ Mayhew said.

(Follow @PaulaPasche on Twitter. Order her book,  “100 Things Lions Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die’’ here. It’s also available at bookstores.)


0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home