Calvin Johnson isn't coming back to the NFL and doesn't miss football

Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Detroit Lions legend Calvin Johnson is relentlessly mentioned in rumors regarding a comeback, but he says he's not returning to the NFL.

Johnson, 32, wrote an article for The Players' Tribune Tuesday, explaining what he is up to in retirement and his status when it comes to a potential comeback.

It ain't happening.

Johnson, a three-time All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowl selection, is closer to Canton than a comeback. He played nine seasons in Detroit, piling up 11,619 yards and 83 touchdowns on 731 receptions. He left the game after the 2015 season. There have been many reasons thrown around regarding why he chose to leave the NFL. Johnson wrote that he contemplated his departure for more than a year.

Megatron said that when people ask if he misses the game, he says "no."

"I'm still around the game so much. It's still a huge part of my life, even though I'm not playing on Sundays," Johnson wrote. "I miss my teammates, for sure. I miss coach [Jim] Caldwell. I miss giving fans something to be excited about. I miss the competition. But I can honestly say that I don't miss playing."

"I love football. But it became difficult to love the game as much when I was in some sort of pain every day. I never talked about it while I was playing because ... what good would that do? It wouldn't make me hurt any less. It would just sound like an excuse. And I hate making excuses. So I continued to play as best I could for as long as I could, which turned out to be nine years."

"And don't let anyone try to tell you that nine years is a 'short' football career. With the beating you take on the field, nine years literally feels like forever. They should have a system to measure a football player's age - like dog years or something - because nine years in the league doesn't equal nine years in real time. It takes a lot more years out of you."

The 6-foot-5, 239-pound athlete has done many things since leaving the Lions. He was on Dancing With the Stars, has put on receiver camps and worked with kids through the Calvin Johnson Jr. Foundation. He has also worked with several teams, tutoring players as a private wide-receiver consultant. He has helped high school players, college prospects and NFL squads.

Johnson has also turned his athletic endeavors to a different type of platform: slopes and swells. He said he enjoys fishing and golf, but he is "hooked" on skiing.

He also said he is working on becoming a better surfer.

"So, imagine me - 6' 5", 230 pounds - lying face down on a tiny surfboard, taking up the whole damn thing, then trying to stand up and catch a wave," Johnson wrote.

"I say trying because I was hardly able to stand up on the board - and definitely not able to stay up. I came close a couple of times, but every time I got my feet set and tried to push myself up, I went down, man."

"One of these days - maybe when I get the right board - I'll perfect it."

Johnson did not mention the Lions in the lengthy piece. The Detroit Free Press reported in June that the franchise made Johnson pay back at least $1 million from his signing bonus when he retired in March of 2016.

"I just didn't feel like I was treated the way I should have been treated on the way out," he told the Free Press. "That's all. I mean, it's all good. I'm not tripping. I don't feel any kind of way, just hey, that's what they did. Hey, it is what is."

Coach Caldwell said the front office was concerned about the comments.

"I think all of us within the organization," Caldwell told the Free Press. "Top to bottom, Mrs. Ford down through Bob and the Ford children, everybody, we're all concerned anytime we hear one of our alumni aren't happy, particularly with how we feel about our alumni around here."

The Lions fired Caldwell on Monday. He led the team to a 36-28 record in four seasons, including two playoff appearances. His Lions were 0-2 in the postseason.

After retiring, Johnson told reporters that he didn't see the Lions winning a Super Bowl.

"I mean, I thought about it," Johnson said in July, according to the Detroit News. "Just like in basketball, you know, guys, they create these superteams. But it's not quite like that in football where I had the freedom just to go.

"I was stuck in my contract with Detroit, and they told me, they would not release my contract, so I would have to come back to them. I didn't see the chance for them to win a Super Bowl at the time, and for the work I was putting in, it wasn't worth my time to keep on beating my head against the wall ... and not going anywhere.

"It's the definition of insanity."

Lions executive vice president and general manager Bob Quinn cited similar sentiment when he talked to reporters Monday about Caldwell's dismissal.

"At the end of the day, I want to take this team to the next level, and to me that's winning championships, that's winning playoff games and that's winning the Super Bowl," Quinn told reporters.

"Ultimately, I'm the person in charge of football operations here at the Lions, and ultimately the record that we've had the last two years is on me. So, last year we went 9-7 and lost a playoff game, and this year we went 9-7 and didn't get the playoffs. So, that's ultimately my record and I take full ownership of that. Really, the standards that I have and the Ford family has for this team are greater than that, and my goal is to go out and find the best head coach to bring us that championship."