The welcome mat is out for retired Detroit Lions superstar Calvin Johnson to attend the team's upcoming training camp as a visitor.
Johnson recently expressed criticism about the way his nine-year career ended with the Lions, and also being disappointed that the team was unable to contend for a Super Bowl berth. The latter comments were made last week in an interview at an event in Italy.
Despite those comments, team president Rod Wood had conciliatory comments regarding Johnson in an interview on WJR-760 Monday morning, adding that he has had recent contact with Johnson via text messages.
Wood indicated that he does not think any lasting damage has been done to the relationship between the franchise and Johnson, one of the most dominating wide receivers in NFL history and the holder of nearly all of the franchise receiving records.
"It's a little disappointing," Wood said on WJR. "I kind of aligned myself with what (head coach) Jim Caldwell said a couple weeks ago. I think it will all work out."
Johnson retired in March of 2016. Johnson initiated contact with him in a text message, Wood said.
"Calvin, interestingly, texted me a couple weeks ago," Wood said on WJR. "We exchanged a few text messages recently. I won't get into what they were about. They were very cordial.
"I did invite him out to training camp. Hopefully, he shows up. He's a great player. We want to have him kind of in the tent, not outside the tent. Hopefully, that's the way it ends up."
