Stephen A. Smith has no faith in the Packers' secondary, which is why he is sticking with the Lions to win the NFC North division. Max Kellerman, however, is going with Green Bay, calling Aaron Rodgers "the best player on the planet." (1:55)

ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- It’s a question I’ve gotten since March, when Calvin Johnson announced his retirement.

Any chance he’d come back? It’s something that has intensified as the season has gone along and Johnson’s former team, the Detroit Lions, have made a push for the playoffs. The postseason is a place Johnson rarely reached in his career -- just two appearances with no playoff wins or home playoff games -- so it seemed like a reasonable question.

As I’ll explain in today’s Lions Mailbag, though, it’s just an unrealistic thing to think about.

To ask a question for a future mailbag, use the hashtag #LionsMailbag on Twitter, email me at michael.rothstein@espn.com or hit me up on Facebook.

Now, on to today’s Calvin Johnson-related question.

There are no indications that Calvin Johnson wants to return to the NFL, and the receivers haven't been a problem for the Lions this season. AP Photo/Rick Osentoski

Zach from Parts Unknown asks via email (and many, many people have asked this): Could Calvin Johnson come back for a playoff run? Or have you heard anything about that?

This is one of the most common questions throughout the season, but particularly lately as the offense has shown some struggles other than Golden Tate's continued emergence and Matthew Stafford's fourth-quarter comeback consistency.

The short answer is no, I don’t expect Johnson to return to football at this point -- or ever, really. I’ve learned to never say never, but it just doesn’t seem like a realistic possibility. No one I’ve spoken with about Johnson in the past few months has given me any indication he would want to return to football, and if anything, the consistent message has been that Johnson is happy in retirement. He’s busy doing other stuff -- yes, "Dancing with the Stars" was part of it -- and they don’t see him returning to football.

When I saw Johnson in June -- this was before a season was played without him, of course -- he appeared very content in retirement and even said "I’m not coming back. You ain’t gotta worry about that."

And there’s no reason at all to think he’s changed his mind.

Beyond all of that, it’s just not practical at this point.

As fantastic as Johnson was during his career with the Lions -- he’ll be a conversation piece when he’s eligible for Hall of Fame voting -- to expect him to come into Detroit with two weeks left in the season, be able to get up to speed in somewhat of a new offense and make contributions would be too tough a task. Even for a player like Johnson.

Also, the receivers haven’t been a problem for the Lions this season, even as Marvin Jones' production has waned. Golden Tate is on pace for his second 1,000-yard season in three years in Detroit. Jones still has more than 800 yards receiving, and Anquan Boldin has become a reliable third-down option for Stafford. So that position, though it would be enhanced if Johnson were to decide to come back and miraculously be able to be in football shape immediately, is not the issue.

While he was on "Dancing with the Stars," he said he’s dropped at least 10 pounds, putting him at a lighter weight than he ever played at during his NFL career. It’s just not a realistic thing to think of -- and again, there has been no indication Johnson has any interest in returning to the NFL anyway.

There’s also the salary-cap implications, and the Lions would have to get rid of some players on a deep roster where most players have pretty defined roles just to fit Johnson in under the cap.

So that’s a very long way of saying this: It’s not going to happen. I’d be more than stunned if it did.