Calvin Johnson spent all nine seasons of his career with the Detroit Lions, but he acknowledged in a recent interview that it would have been cool to finish his Hall of Fame career elsewhere.
Appearing on The Rich Eisen Show earlier this week, the three-time All-Pro was asked what team he would have liked to play for outside of the Lions. While Johnson certainly wouldn't have balked at the chance to play with Tom Brady or Drew Brees, he says playing for his home-town Falcons would have been a neat experience.
"So everybody knows, this is just wishful thinking here. But obviously I'm from Georgia, I played my college ball there, it would have been cool to take it full circle and do high school, college and professional all in one town. That would have been cool.
"...That would have been awesome, to play it all at home. That was just the best-case scenario."
Listen to NFL talk now on Audacy and shop the latest NFL team gear
Johnson played at Sandy Creek High School, which is less than 40 minutes from downtown Atlanta. He then caught 178 passes for 2,927 yards in three seasons at Georgia Tech, before ultimately entering the NFL Draft and being selected by the Lions with the No. 2 overall pick in 2007. The Falcons had the No. 8 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, and used it on edge rusher Jamaal Anderson -- not the dirty bird -- who recorded 7 1/2 sacks in a six-year NFL career.
It certainly would have been fun to see a 1-2 at wide receiver of Johnson and Julio Jones, both of whom will someday be immortalized together in Canton at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Quarterback Matt Ryan -- who won the NFL MVP in 2016, Johnson's first year of retirement -- probably would have cemented himself as a Hall of Famer if he had those two wideouts at his disposal, even if only for a year or two. And if the trio of Johnson, Jones and Ryan had been together during 2015 and/or 2016 when Kyle Shanahan was the offensive coordinator, imagine what could have been.
Related
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram