It's impossible to imagine Amon-Ra St. Brown playing for anyone but the Lions. Before he was drafted, St. Brown wanted to play for ... anyone but the Lions.
A day after signing a four-year, $120 million extension with the team that drafted him in the fourth round in 2021, St. Brown admitted that he wasn't exactly thrilled "when I got that call" three years ago. He even told his brother and fellow NFL receiver Equanimeous St. Brown entering day three of the draft, "There is one team I don't want to go to and that's the Lions. Please, I don't want to go to the Lions.'"
"And sure enough, I checked my phone and it's 313, Detroit. I'm like, 'No way.' So I pick it up. It's Brad (Holmes), whoever it is, talked to them, they drafted me. I was happy, but I was unhappy at the same time because I didn't want to come here," St. Brown said Thursday, via the Detroit News.
At the time, the Lions were coming off their third straight last-place season, had just hired a new and unproven general manager-head coach tandem in Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell and had just traded franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford. And St. Brown was hoping to play with his brother, who at the time was on the division rival Packers.
Three years later, St. Brown is a first-team All-Pro who has more catches than anyone from the 2021 draft and more yards and touchdowns than anyone other than fifth overall pick Ja'Marr Chase. His draft snub has turned into fuel and the Lions have turned unto winners. In hindsight, he says he "would pay" to land in Detroit again.
"I don't think there's another team where I've done what I've done here, with the people that are around me, the coaches, my teammates, the fans, the city, just the whole story of how it's been playing (out) so far," St. Brown said. "I would pay for this if I could, to have this whole thing happen again because I feel it's a perfect story. We're winning games now, the draft is in Detroit, we've got black uniforms. Everything is going right. We've got to keep up this momentum that we have now."
St. Brown is coming off a career season in which he caught 119 passes for 1,515 yards and 10 touchdowns -- all personal highs -- and then caught 22 passes for 274 yards and a touchdown in the playoffs to help the Lions reach the NFC title game. He was rewarded with a contract that briefly made him the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL, before A.J. Brown of the Eagles reset the market with a $32 million-per-year deal on Thursday.
And don't worry, says St. Brown: the money won't change the chip on his shoulder.
"I tell everyone, I'm going harder now," he said. "I'm not changing. My goal, our goal, is that Lombardi. We need it. We feel like we can do it. That's our goal going into this season is we want that trophy. I'm not changing. Everyone knows that. I hope they do or they'll find out. I'm just glad I'm here four more years, to be with the guys, the coaches, my teammates, the fans, everyone that's a part of the organization."