Detroit Lions and Calvin Johnson: Time to come back together

YOU NEED EACH OTHER

Having to pay back a number that reaches seven figures really does suck. Professional football is a business and this is the nasty side of it.

Calvin had to pay the money back. What’s done is done.

But don’t hold a grudge. Especially over something that was said in the moment, and probably (plus hopefully) would never happen again.

If anything, Calvin Johnson should bond a new relationship with the Detroit Lions.

Calvin does a lot of football camps, and the Detroit Lions should be sponsoring, funding, and advertising those camps.

Johnson hopes to make into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His induction should be fully backed by the Detroit Lions franchise.

Not that Calvin needs the Lions for a place in Canton, or even that the Lions would openly campaign against it. But, if they work together, think of how much faster that could happen.

For the Lions, make things right with Calvin. Make sure he knows that the money was just business. But also let him know that there is further business to be done with the franchise.

Hold Calvin close and elevate him: in much the same way he elevated on all those spectacular catches.

For Calvin, let that final mistake by a regime in transition be just that: the last mistake. Embrace a new era in Lions football and know that you are beloved not only by the franchise but by the fans.

Barry Sanders is back in the fold as of 2017. Even taking on a position with the team as “brand ambassador.”

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Now make 2018 about Calvin Johnson. For both sides, don’t wait.

Make it happen now and reap the benefits of a shared future. The longer you wait, the more opportunities that will be missed, for both sides.