Calvin Johnson is not Worried About Age, Just Worried About Bringing Detroit a Championship

Calvin Johnson is going to be entering his ninth NFL season and will be turning 30 in September.

He has been known as the best wide receiver in the NFL for quite sometime now, but the rest of the best wideouts in the game are slowly starting to catch up and nip at his heels.

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Johnson still has nothing to worry about as far as those other receivers overtaking him as the best in the game. They can simply talk to him after they reach 10,000 career yards in less than 115 games.

Megatron’s NFL experience has really gone by quick. It seems like only yesterday he was the No.1 overall pick of the 2007 NFL Draft. Now he is a decorated, Hall of Fame bound, All-Time Great receiver.

In a piece from detroitlions.com he gives a short overview on his journey through the NFL:

“It goes way fast, I remember it like yesterday when I just got here. To be here right now is, one, a blessing, and two, it’s great to have guys that look up to you and want to learn from you and be able to give them some tools they can use.”

-Calvin Johnson

Maintaining his status as the best wide receiver in the modern NFL is a small part of what is motivating him nowadays. Part of his motivation comes from being a veteran player that other receivers can look to as an example of how to be a professional.

He has embraced his status as an elder statesmen, and does not mind passing his knowledge on to the young players who admire his game.

Another part of his motivation comes from not letting his sports age become a drawback. Some athletes’ skills do begin to decline once they hit 30-years of age.

May 27, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson (81) during OTA at Detroit Lions Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

But Megatron’s work ethic and mental approach is going to keep “Father Time” at arms length for as long as possible.

Johnson said this about his approach to combating age attrition to detroitlions.com:

“Turning 30 can be a boundary, it can be a hindrance, if you let it be, if you let age beat you. I just keep working and keep the same mindset that I’ve kept my whole career. It’s grown and gotten better and I just keep on trying to advance.”

-Calvin Johnson

Truthfully age is the last thing to worry about slowing down Calvin Johnson. There should be more concern about the injury bug slowing him down as he goes through the remainder of his career.

There is no doubt that when he is on the field he is an unstoppable force. But the force that has been his biggest enemy is injury.

In 2014, Johnson accumulated catches for 1,077 yards and eight touchdowns in only 13 games. He was hampered by an ankle injury for much of the 2014 season and simply toughed out most of the games he played in.

In his eight seasons of football he has only played all 16 contests in the schedule three times.

Regardless of the injuries he is still the most dangerous wide receiver in the game today.

But that label seems hollow without the one moniker he has yet to achieve in his career — Super Bowl Champion.

That is a label that he, just like most of the NFL’s greatest, wants more than anything.

But winning a Super Bowl is not just something that he wants for himself or for the team.

He told detroitlions.com:

“I’m out to have fun and bring this city a championship!”

-Calvin Johnson

Bringing the City of Detroit a Vince Lombardi Trophy is what fuels Calvin Johnson.

The financial strife of “The Motor City” is well-documented. The city has been through a lot in the last decade or so.