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Calvin Johnson has ‘lingering pain’

By Kevin Parvizi

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Detroit Lions superstar wide receiver Calvin Johnson missed last week’s 17-3 win over the Minnesota Vikings with an ankle injury, as he suffered the injury for a couple of weeks, playing through it before aggravating it in Week 5 against the Buffalo Bills. Johnson was listed as doubtful in the lead-up to the Vikings game, but there was no doubt that he wasn’t healthy enough to play. Moreover, Jim Caldwell and the Lions weren’t going to risk their star player, especially since they already considered benching him in Weeks 4 and 5.

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    • According to Lions official site beat writer Tim Twentyman, Johnson stated that he’ll return when he believes he can perform at a “high level” in all aspects of the game, indicating that he could miss this week’s game against the New Orleans Saints (star TE Jimmy Graham is expected to be out for the opposition). Johnson is also “not there yet” and still has “lingering pain” in his ankle.

    The fact that Johnson is still feeling pain isn’t surprising, but it means that he could have an uphill battle in getting cleared for this week’s game. The Lions have a bye in Week 9 bye after games agains the sliding Saints and Falcons. There are a lot of factors to consider here, because the Saints and Falcons have high-powered offenses, badly struggling secondaries and defenses as a whole, but a top No. 1 corner with little else around them. It will be interesting to see how Johnson’s ankle heals going forward, but the Lions have a lot to mull over as the gear up for a playoff bid.

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