Calvin Johnson shockingly inactive

Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson (81) stands on the sidelines during the third quarter against the Chicago Bears at Ford Field. The Lions won 40-32. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

Fantasy owners should hurriedly pull Detroit Lions star WR Calvin Johnson out of their fantasy lineups, because Johnson has been announced as an extremely surprising inactive for today’s rivalry game against the Green Bay Packers. When Johnson was initially listed questionable on the Lions injury report with a knee injury, I assumed the Lions were just playing mind games with the Packers. I mean, Johnson has played through injuries before, and this sort of scenario, where he was listed questionable after resting the first two days of practice with an injury and then ended up playing, happened countless times last season. Apparently, this was a different case.

It’s a devastating blow to the Lions offense, as Calvin Johnson is responsible for opening up the field for everyone else and has been known to bail out Matthew Stafford on occasion. Johnson has also historically been excellent against the Packers, and he and Stafford both pile up yardage against a porous Packers pass D.

With Calvin Johnson out, fantasy owners of Ryan Broyles should be salivating based on sheer targets alone. Brandon Pettigrew also becomes a very viable fantasy play, but the “real” ramifications of this injury are huge for the Lions. I wonder how serious this knee injury is, as Johnson reportedly tried (this is not surprising at all) as hard as he could to play today.

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