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Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson has been dealing with an ankle injury since Week 3, and it may finally force him to miss a game. Johnson has been extremely limited in the last two games, and after aggravating the injury again on Sunday, it looks like the Lions may shut him down for at least this week.
Caldwell said he thought about holding Calvin Johnson out last week and will "strongly" consider it again this week.
— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) October 6, 2014
Johnson was targeted only once on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. He gained seven yards on the catch, and he was taken down with a vicious hit to one of his legs. At first it looked like Johnson may have suffered a knee injury, but it turns out that he simply suffered more damage to his already-injured ankle.
Given that Johnson has basically been nothing more than a decoy the last two weeks, shutting him down and letting him get healthy seems like the way to go at this point. Losing Johnson for a road game against the Minnesota Vikings would obviously hurt the Lions offense, but there's no sense in playing him if he is going to be extremely limited again. Plus, it's better to let him get healthy now than run the risk of this injury lingering throughout the rest of the season.