Calvin Johnson smiled while admitting he learned as much, if not more, about golf as some of the children he volunteered to instruct.
The Detroit Lions Hall of Fame wide receiver visited Detroit Golf Club on Tuesday, assisted with the Youth Golf Clinic put on by the The Children’s Foundation, then played in the Area 313 Celebrity Scramble to raise money for charity.
“We get to raise a lot of funds, and it’s great for the big-time bros that come out here to bring more people out to help bring out additional funding,” Johnson said. “So just being out here to support, give my time … these are the things I have fun doing, giving back to my community and playing golf.”
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Johnson was inspired by the clean hitting of former No. 1-ranked World Long Drive competitor Maurice Allen during the kids camp. He later showed his own skills by sinking a near-30-foot putt during the scramble, which Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo’s team won over Johnson and fellow Lions legend Barry Sanders, among others.
On the eve of the Lions reporting to training camp, the light 3-hole round was a nice change of scenery for Johnson after all the years gearing up for his former team’s practices at Allen Park. He said he almost didn’t realize the NFL preseason had arrived, but he still plans to watch the Lions as they enter 2022 with immense hype.
“I’ll definitely keep an eye on it,” Johnson said. “I’ve always been good with Coach Dan (Campbell), (I) played with him, so I always look to see. I hope that he does great things here.”
Johnson and Campbell were Lions teammates from 2007-08, when the former was breaking into the league after being drafted No. 2 overall out of Georgia Tech. The latter was toughing out the last years of his career, blocking defenders and catching passes despite a torn triceps.
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In his second year helming the Lions, Campbell has helped elevate the optimism surrounding his team. He has garnered the respect of the locker room and believes the Lions (3-13-1 in 2021) can overcome odds just like this year’s Kentucky Derby winner, Rich Strike.
“He was a starter with basically one arm,” Johnson said. “A lot of guys probably don’t know that, but I mean, the guys that do, you can respect that. And if you really understood his history, the guys that are in that locker room, they’ll respect him that much more. So just being a player, but being a passionate player that he is, I know he’s carrying that passion over into his coaching, so I’m happy for him.”
Alongside an offensive line with three first-round draft picks, the wide receiver room Johnson used to lead is a perceived strength for the current Lions. D.J. Chark was signed to provide a veteran presence and Amon-Ra St. Brown will try to build on a stellar rookie year.
The Lions also traded up to draft Alabama product Jameson Williams No. 12 overall in April. He hasn’t practiced yet and could miss at least the first six weeks of the season while rehabbing an ACL tear. But when he does arrive, he has a chance to be one of Detroit’s most exciting pass catchers since Johnson.
“I was happy with the move, just because I saw the kid play when he was in college.” Johnson said. “He had an injury, but we’ve seen plenty of guys bounce back from that. So, I look forward to seeing him out there playing. I actually look forward to actually meeting the kid and spending some time with him, just (learning) about him, just learning more about his mindset, because he has high expectations, and he just needs to be ready for it.”
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While he was optimistic about what Campbell, Williams and the Lions are capable of this fall, Johnson was less candid about whether he’ll become more involved with the team again anytime soon.
Since 2019, Johnson has been busy with his and fellow ex-Lion Rob Sims’ medical cannabis dispensary brand “Primitiv.” Johnson and Sims partnered with Harvard to research the benefits of medical marijuana as a pain management alternative to opioids.
Johnson has also been at odds with the Lions since his 2016 retirement after they exercised their right to make him pay back $1.6 million from his signing bonus. He wanted to recoup the lost money, but rejected a proposal to receive $500,000 annually over three years and a $100,000 donation to his foundation in exchange for 28 hours per year working for the team.
“I don’t know,” Johnson said about reopening his Lions involvement. “We’ll see what the team wants to do.”
Contact Mason Young: MEYoung@freepress.com Follow him on Twitter: @Mason_Young_0.