Detroit Lions: 5 reasons why Calvin Johnson trade rumors won’t amount to anything
Oct 30, 2015; Chandler’s Cross, United Kingdom; Detroit Lions coach Jim Caldwell during press conference at The Grove in preparation of the NFL International Series game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Megatron’s importance
Although Johnson’s long-term importance to the Lions organization is minimal, his short-term value to the team is huge. Because while Megatron’s contract and age could actually make him a long-term liability despite his skills, it’s his talent that makes him invaluable to the Lions in 2015.
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At this point in time, you could argue that the Lions don’t have a single true positive on offense outside of Johnson, because they are 29th in scoring and in the bottom half in net yards per pass attempt. The Lions only weapons who have been at least mildly effective are Johnson, Ebron, and Theo Riddick, and Johnson has 256 more receiving yards than the team’s next-leading pass-catcher (tie at 318 between Tate and Riddick).
If Johnson goes, the Lions tank without their true No. 1 receiver and bread-winner on offense. If they tank, Caldwell, Cooter, and the staff are left trying to lead a team in shambles, and the Lions might simply choose to move on from them at the end of the year.
But because those guys are on the hot seat, it figures that the Lions want to evaluate them further. If they trade Megatron, they have no chance to evaluate them. So while Caldwell could say, “Well, you can’t blame me for our poor season, because we traded Johnson mid-season,” making that trade would indicate that the Lions have already given up on the current staff, which isn’t unreasonable after a 1-6 start.
So trading Johnson probably means blowing everything up, and I’m not sure the Lions are willing to do that after making the playoffs last season on an 11-5 record in what was Caldwell’s first season.
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Plus, the Lions current decision-makers would probably prefer to make a last-ditch effort at saving this season and increasing their job security, as opposed to trading their star player, tanking, and hoping that this can buy them enough time for a future rebuild.