The Detroit Lions head into the 2016 season without one of the best players in franchise history after wide receiver Calvin Johnson announced his retirement during the spring.
For a team that struggled through a seven-win 2015 campaign, this loss should have a severe impact in its ability to contend for a playoff spot this upcoming season.
After all, Johnson has been the team’s leading receiver in seven of the past eight years. Since Matthew Stafford took over as Detroit’s starting quarterback, Johnson has caught 41 percent of the touchdowns the signal caller has thrown.
Despite this, Stafford seems to be underplaying the loss of the future Hall of Fame receiver.
“I think we’re going to do it a little bit differently than we have in the past,” Stafford said recently on Sirius XM NFL Radio. “Obviously we used to feature Calvin and everybody kinda got there’s after that. It’s gonna, I think, be tougher for defenses in a certain way that they don’t know who we’re going to. There’s no guy to key in on. We’re probably just going to spread the ball around a bunch, a bunch of guys are gonna get a ton of catches and we’re gonna be alright.”
As evidenced by Stafford’s previous reliance on Johnson, there’s an argument that can be made that opposing defenses won’t be able to focus solely on that one receiver.
Detroit does have a pass catcher in Golden Tate that has caught 189 of the 272 passes thrown in his direction over the past two seasons.
Though, that was as the team’s No. 2 receiver with defenses focusing primarily on Johnson on the outside. How will Tate transition to the lead receiver role? That’s the biggest question here.
Meanwhile, the Lions signed former Cincinnati Bengals receiver Marvin Jones back in March. Jones, who caught 65 passes for 816 yards a season ago, will presumably be Detroit’s No. 2 receiver behind Tate.
Even then, the loss of Johnson simply isn’t something Detroit can brush off. In order for this team to hit contending status in 2016, the likes of tight end Eric Ebron and running back Ameer Abdullah will have to play large roles in the passing game.
Stafford’s comments are interesting in that they come less than a month after he had publicly stated he’s moved on from Calvin Johnson talk. The fact that he feels the need to address the situation tells us that he’s not necessarily at that point yet.
Seen as potentially a product of Johnson’s absurd talents in the past, Stafford now has an opportunity to make a name for himself. If that happens, the Lions could very well be in good shape. Though, it’s definitely something to keep an eye on moving forward.