Matt Patricia Has Spoken to Calvin Johnson on Numerous Occasions

Matt Patricia is appreciative of the advice former Lion Calvin Johnson has given him when they have spoken

Matt Patricia expressed that he has spoken to former Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson on numerous occasions. 

Patricia appeared on "The Pat McAfee Show" from radio row in Miami, the site of this years Super Bowl.

Pat McAfee has had quite the rise in the media world the last few years. McAfee recently joined the CBS Sports Radio lineup. His radio show airs 10am-12pm Monday thru Friday. 

Patricia was jokingly asked if he had one too many (drinks) one night and thought about calling Johnson to return to play for the team.

"I've actually spoken with him (Johnson) on numerous occasions," Patricia said. "He's unbelievable. He's great. I am real appreciative of his help, his advice. Believe me, if I could get him out there I would throw a couple to him right now and he would go get them."

Patricia's interview starts at approximately the 1:25 mark (1 hour, 25 minutes) of the video below. 

Johnson has opened up about his time in Detroit on numerous occasions in the last two years. 

He detailed his adversarial relationship with the Lions in an in-depth feature interview for Sports Illustrated last September.

Johnson discussed with Michael Rosenberg how frustrated he was the organization asked him to pay back his signing bonus, despite the numerous injuries he tried to play through towards the tail end of his career. 

In the article, he indicated he wouldn't have anything to do with the Lions unless the money was returned back to him. 

He did tell Patricia he would work with the team's wide receivers, just not anywhere near the Lions practice facility. 

An interesting friendship

Patricia also revealed that he is close friends with ex-mobster Michael Franzese. 

Franzese was a former New York mobster in the Colombo crime family. He has publicly denounced his former life, and has gained fame as a writer and motivational speaker.

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