- Calvin Johnson retired after 135 games and nine seasons with the Detroit Lions
- Johnson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame five years after his retirement
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Retired Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson revealed that he played several games under the influence of cannabis during his final season in the NFL.
The Hall of Famer played just 135 games in nine seasons and retired in 2015 at the age of 30. Upon his retirement, Johnson alluded to the physical toll football had taken on him as the deciding factor in his departure.
On Thursday’s episode of RG3 and The Ones, Johnson told Robert Griffin III that he used cannabis to dull pain before games in 2015. The revelation came after Griffin asked Johnson if he played games “high.”
“Yes, I have,” Johnson said, laughing. “There were a couple of games in my career, man (when) I was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to make it today,’ let me get my thoughts together.”
“It was like my senior year when I was barely hanging on,” Johnson added.
Retired NFL wide receiver Calvin Johnson revealed he used cannabis before games
Johnson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021 after nine seasons in Detroit
Johnson led the NFL in receiving yards twice, including a career-high 1,964 yards in 2012.
After six Pro Bowl selections while playing all nine years for the Lions, Johnson was named to the franchise’s All-Time team. He was also inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame within his first year of eligibility in 2021.
Johnson has been a longtime advocate for research into the medical use of cannabis and opened a medical cannabis dispensary in Michigan in 2019. He also collaborated with Harvard University to study the effects of cannabis on CTE patients.
Johnson racked up 1,214 yards in 2015, the most ever in a player’s final season in the NFL. His 88 receptions tied for the second-highest total in a final season in the league.
Although he finished his career strong, the physical strain and team issues still led to Johnson’s early exit from the game.
“They’re blowing up the team. My body hurts,” Johnson said in 2020. ‘I don’t have my range of motion like I used to. I can’t get out, I can’t dig like I used to. I just don’t feel it.’