Lions beat reporter Kyle Meinke reported earlier that Calvin Johnson missed a second consecutive practice today. Lions typically give ‘Megatron’ a maintenance day off from practice, but two in a row is unusual according to various Lions writers. Johnson says he will play against the Steelers this Sunday. “Body’s feeling good,” Johnson said. “Just got some maintenance issues we’re taking care of. As far as that goes — you know how that goes — you have to talk to coach.”
Johnson has been battling knee issues ever since training camp, but it hasn’t hampered him during the games he’s played. Johnson wasn’t quite the one man team he usually is after the bye week, so perhaps his knee is a bigger issue than he’s letting on. Either way, the Steelers secondary hasn’t faced a WR of his caliber this season, and they’ll need to execute the gameplan with perfection to keep him from making the big plays that he’s known for. See the Cowboys game of week 8 for further details.