NFL: Return of Calvin Johnson unknown. Stevan Ridley should play.
By Jason Marcum
Sep 8, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson (81) during player introductions prior to the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
It looks as though the Detroit Lions won’t know the availability of Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson won’t be determined until gameday once again. Lions Head Coach Jim Schwartz said for the second straight day that Johnson’s availability this week probably won’t be determined until Sunday morning after listing him at questionable vs the Cleveland Browns.
Johnson took part sparingly in practice, working in position drills and on his footwork, but didn’t do any team drills, and it looks like it will come down to how much swelling is in his knee on Sunday.
If he doesn’t play this week, he should be able to play against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7.
With reports out Friday that the New England Patriots may again be without All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski, their anemic offense is in desperate need of playmakers at seemingly every position outside of quarterback.
The team may be getting a nice boost with the return of running back Stevan Ridley, who was out for last week’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, and the team believes he’ll play Sunday vs the New Orleans Saints.
The New York Jets avoided a major injury to arguably their best playmaker on defense, as cornerback Antonio Cromartie suffered what initially looked like a serious knee injury yesterday, but it turned out to be just a hyper-extended knee. While not season-ending, it’s still the kind of injury that can sideline a player for weeks depending on the amount of swelling in the knee, and for now, the team is calling him a game-time decision vs the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The New York Giants were expecting big things from running back David Wilson entering the year, but he’s never been able to consistently get enough carries to find his rhythm, and the ground game has struggled mightily do to it.
After fumbling the first game and getting into Coughlin’s doghouse early, Wilson has since played very tentatively, and has rarely made the explosive plays that led the Giants to spend a first round draft pick on him.
But they may not have him at all for the remainder of the year with reports that he may have spinal stenosis.
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