Calvin Johnson Injury: WR testing out ankle

Although New Orleans Saints superstar tight end Jimmy Graham is at least expected to have a limited role in today’s game, Detroit Lions elite wide receiver Calvin Johnson isn’t expected to play at all. Head coach Jim Caldwell stated that it would take a “miracle” for Johnson to play today against the Saints, as he missed last week’s win over the Minnesota Vikings after aggravating an ankle injury in the team’s Week 5 loss to the Buffalo Bills. While Megatron could probably tough it out in a decoy role, it wouldn’t seem prudent to risk his health for the long haul of the season, because these injuries, as Johnson already saw in Week 5, tend to aggravate and/or linger.

According to the NFL Network’s Albert Breer, Johnson is currently testing out his ankle today before the Saints and Lions square off in the afternoon, and the picture from Breer’s Instagram is embedded below.

Despite being listed questionable, Johnson doesn’t have a great shot at playing today after not practicing at all this week, so it would be unwise to expect him to play. Graham isn’t a guarantee either, but at least he is expected to get a limited amount of snaps and targets, which, as we saw last season, can still mean he has a big day (touchdowns).