Calvin Johnson had an opportunity to catch passes from Aaron Rodgers.  Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Calvin Johnson reveals Aaron Rodgers tried to recruit him to join the Packers

Since his shocking retirement in 2016, football fans have been left wondering what Calvin Johnson's career would have looked like had he played beyond the age of 30. Now, fans can wonder what Johnson's late-career would have looked like if he had teamed up with one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play. 

The former receiver revealed during an interview on "All the Smoke" podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson that Aaron Rodgers would often try to convince him to leave the Detroit Lions and join the Green Bay Packers instead. And it doesn't sound like Johnson was against the suggestion.

"Whenever we played Green Bay, whenever Aaron Rodgers was over on our sideline, he would say, 'Hey man, you need to come on over here,'" Johnson said. "I said, 'Hey, I wish I could.'"

Despite never becoming a reality, this anecdote is likely to break the hearts of Lions fans, as it further reminds them of their beloved team's inability to satisfy their best offensive weapon since Barry Sanders, who also prematurely ended his career. Johnson has spoken about his difficult relationship with the Lions, with whom he spent the entirety of his nine-year career.

But for the rest of us, it's hard not to get excited just imagining Rodgers having Johnson as a target. Johnson is unquestionably one of the most talented receivers in NFL history, and while he enjoyed a ton of success with Matthew Stafford, it would have been a blast to see how good he could have been with Rodgers.

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