Calvin Johnson among Lions who did not practice Thursday

The Detroit Lions are simply imploding, but if they’re going to get back on track, they’ll need every bit of Calvin Johnson.

Johnson, despite his poor performance against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football, is arguably the best football player in the league. He makes the Lions the team they are, and he single-handedly gives Detroit a chance in every single contest.

I wrote yesterday that I believe he’ll bounce back from his poor performance, and I do expect him to play this weekend against the New York Giants at home. With that said, he was among the list of Lions who did not practice this Thursday, according to  Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com.

"Tight end Brandon Pettigrew and linebacker DeAndre Levy missed their second day of practice this week on Thursday.They were among four starters missing for the Lions along with receiver Calvin Johnson and cornerback Rashean Mathis, who practiced and spoke with the media Wednesday."

Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com also confirmed the injury report via Twitter:

Megatron is the type of player who can miss a few practices and still play at a high level, so I wouldn’t worry too much about him just yet if you’re a Lions fan. More concerning on this list would be Brandon Pettigrew, who injured his ankle and was on crutches on Wednesday.