Calvin Johnson could soon be headed for the Pro Football Hall of Fame -- and he's still not speaking with the only team he played for.
And Johnson says the Lions aren't trying to speak with him, contrary to what team president Rod Wood told reporters Tuesday morning.
You know the story. Johnson has been estranged from the Lions since the organization forced him to repay a portion of his signing bonus following his early retirement. And he has no interest in mending the fence until the Lions 'put that money back in my pocket.'
With this year's finalists for the Hall of Fame set to be announced Wednesday, Wood said Tuesday "nothing has really changed" between the Lions and one of the greatest players in franchise history.
"We’re supportive of Calvin’s candidacy for the Hall of Fame. Continue to try to reach out to him, but it’s going to require both of us to get together on that. It’s not just us," said Wood. "I won’t really comment on where we stand on that, but certainly as I’ve said at the very beginning, that’s my goal.”
Johnson told the Free Press shortly thereafter that Wood has not, in fact, tried to reach out.
“Not that I’m looking for him to, but that’d be totally false if he asserted he reached out to me recently," Johnson said.
And around and around we go.
From Johnson's perspective, it's pretty simple. Show me the money. Until the Lions take that step, they can forget any idea of reconciliation.
"You can't make me pay money back and then still want me to come around," Johnson said in November. "It doesn't work like that. You don’t get my services after that, after all the time I put in. You gets no more."
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