Luring free agents to Detroit can sometimes be difficult. Case in point: Reggie Wayne.
Wayne, the retired NFL wide receiver, said on NFL Network host Dan Hellie’s “Hellipod” podcast that the Lions wanted to sign him in 2015 but that he balked at the offer after the organization asked him to go through a pre-signing workout.
“I said, ‘Work out? You the Detroit Lions. Wait. Work out? I’m good.' Like, I can give you — I got 14 years of working out that you can see,” Wayne said. “So I was like, ‘Nah, I’m cool.’ ”
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Wayne played 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and amassed more than 14,000 yards receiving in his career. He underwent triceps surgery after the 2014 season and remained a free agent well into the summer.
The Lions, led by former Colts coach Jim Caldwell, were coming off an 11-5 season at the time but in need of a No. 3 receiver to pair with Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate.
Wayne eventually signed with the New England Patriots, a team he happily worked out for, but retired before appearing in a game.
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“Before I get there, Bill Belichick says, ‘Hey, Reg, you got to work out,’ ” Wayne recalled. “So I said, ‘All right. You Bill Belichick, all right, I’ll work out for you. Y’all New England. OK, I’ll work out for New England.’
"So I get out there, they had some other guys there working out, but I didn’t work out with those guys, so I already felt like, OK, this is some ball stuff right here. So I worked out by myself and Tom Brady is the one throwing me the passes. So I went out there and I had a pretty good workout. They ended up signing me third week into the preseason.”
Wayne said he told Belichick weeks later, before the roster cut to 53 players, that his heart wasn't into playing and it was time for him to retire.
The Patriots gave Wayne a $450,000 signing bonus as part of his contract, and let him keep the money despite his retirement. When Johnson retired a few months later with the Lions, the team came after a prorated portion of his signing bonus and forced him to repay $1.6 million.
“I went up to him and I said, ‘Hey ... I know I got a signing bonus. I’ll give it back, no biggie,' ” Wayne said. ”Bill Belichick told me to keep it. Told me to keep it. I’m like, ‘Hey, you ain’t got to bend my arm back twice.’ He told me to keep it.
"And that was love, man. And I always had respect for him. I’ve heard people and seen stuff that he’s done on camera of his respect for me, and maybe that was just his sign of appreciation. We had a lot of battles against that team, so he told me to keep it. We kept it in the bank. I appreciate it. Hey, the best job ever.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett. Read more on the Detroit Lions and sign up for our Lions newsletter.
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May 28, 2020 at 03:08AM
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Reggie Wayne wouldn't work out for the Lions because 'you the Detroit Lions' - Detroit Free Press
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