Calvin Johnson didn’t just shock football fans when he decided to retire at the age of 30. At least one of his teammates thought there was no way it would happen.
Detroit Lions wide receiver Corey Fuller told Kyle Meinke of MLive.com this week that he assumed Johnson was joking when the six-time Pro Bowler mentioned that he was considering retirement.
“Every time he mentioned it to me, I kind of took it as a joke,” Fuller said. “Like, ‘Yeah, whatever. No you’re not.’ It wasn’t until close to the end of the season, when he said it — he said it like two or three times — like, ‘Are you for real?’
“Then after the season, when it came out, it was for real.”
Fuller, who refers to himself as Johnson’s “annoying younger brother,” added that he still hasn’t been able to completely process Megatron’s decision. The former Virginia Tech star could see more targets in Johnson’s absence next season.
While Fuller may have been shocked, a different Lions player knew Johnson was serious the entire time. Perhaps Fuller, like many fans in Detroit, simply didn’t want to believe it.
