It was the 2015 offseason, and six-time Pro Bowl WR Reggie Wayne figured he had one more year in the tank.
Wayne was a free agent, recovering from a triceps injury in 2014 and a torn ACL the year before that. The Lions, coming off their best season in over 20 years, were recovering from a crushing loss to the Cowboys in the playoffs.
Detroit, led by Jim Caldwell, figured Wayne could form a dangerous receiving trio with Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate. Caldwell had coached Wayne for 10 seasons in Indianapolis. So the team called him and asked him to come work out.
Wayne wasn't having it.
"I said, 'Work out? You the Detroit Lions. Wait. Work out? I'm good.' I got 14 years of working out that you can see," Wayne said on the Helliepod Podcast with Dan Hellie of the NFL Network. "So I was like, 'Nah, I'm cool.'"
Shortly thereafter, Wayne got the same call and the same request from Bill Belichick and the Patriots. His response was a little different.
"I'm like, this is going to be interesting. Because at that time in your career, 14 years, you want to go to a contender," said Wayne. "Before I get there, Bill Belichick says, 'Hey, Reg, you gotta work out. ' So I said, 'Alright, you Bill Belichick. Alright, I'll work out for you. Y'all New England. OK, I'll work out for New England.'"
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Wayne's workout went well and he wound up signing a deal with the Patriots midway through the preseason. But he retired before the season began, saying he just "ran out of gas." Wayne told Belichick the team would be better off using his roster spot on someone else.
"I went up to Bill Belichick when they were getting ready to do the final cuts and I said, 'Before you do anything, I don't want you to do something that you see some potential in somebody as far as receiver and you use a spot on me instead of them.' So I said, 'Man, just go on and cut my water off.' So we had an agreement on that," said Wayne.
Wayne then offered to give back his $450,000 signing bonus, but Belichick told him to keep it.
"And that was love, man," said Wayne. "I always had respect for him. I've heard people and seen stuff that he's done on camera of his respect for me, and maybe that was just his sign of appreciation. We had a lot of battles against that team, so he told me to keep it. We kept it in the bank. I appreciate it. Hey, best job ever."
The Lions, meanwhile, stumbled to an 0-5 start on their way to a 7-9 finish.
