Detroit Lions coach Jim Caldwell said Wednesday the entire organization, from owner Martha Ford on down, is concerned about comments Calvin Johnson made recently about his unhappiness with the way he was treated after he retired.
"I think all of us within the organization, top to bottom, Mrs. Ford down through Bob (Quinn) and the Ford children, everybody, we're all concerned about any time we hear one of our alumni aren't happy, particularly with how we feel about our alumni around here," Caldwell said in his first news conference of organized team activities (OTAs).
Johnson, the best receiver in franchise history, retired after nine NFL seasons in March 2016 and was forced to repay a portion of the signing bonus ($320,000) he received in 2012 to the team before he left. He told the Free Press over the weekend he "didn't feel like I was treated the way I should have been treated on the way out that."
Caldwell said he texts Johnson often and said he expected dialogue between the team and Johnson to repair any wounds, though he would not put a timeline on those talks.
"But I can also tell you this, playing in the National Football League for a team is like a family," Caldwell said. "And families sometimes have disagreements. They look at things a little differently. I have grown children and sometimes we look at things a little differently. And we hash them out and we talk about them in dialogue, but it doesn't mean I don't love them. But we get the differences worked out and I think the same thing will happen in this situation.
"Maybe it's a disagreement and a little different viewpoint but the most important thing I think is perhaps this whole will bring about a little more dialogue. Now, how long that will take, I'm not certain. I'm not putting any parameters on it. But I think there will probably be a little discussion, which I think will be a good thing."
