Calvin Johnson Will Return to Lions Against Browns After Knee Injury

The Detroit Lions are set to get their biggest offensive weapon back, as wide receiver Calvin Johnson is ready to return after overcoming a knee injury.

The Detroit Lions confirmed Johnson would play in Week 6:

"

BREAKING: MEGATRON will START. #DETvsCLE #OnePride pic.twitter.com/fiuWgLmGox

— Detroit Lions (@DetroitLionsNFL) October 13, 2013"

Johnson suffered the injury during the team's Week 4 victory over the Chicago Bears. There was some initial concern the ailment was a setback dating to an issue he dealt with during training camp, but head coach Jim Schwartz said that wasn't the case, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.

"

Schwartz said Calvin's injury was from the Bears game, not the same thing he was dealing with in camp.

— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) October 7, 2013"

The dynamic wide receiver had 21 catches for 312 yards and four touchdowns in four games before being sidelined.

His absence was felt immediately. The Lions offense was one of the most explosive in the NFL after a quarter of the season. But without Johnson against the Green Bay Packers, they put up just nine points and less than 300 total yards.

When he's on the field, he demands a high level of attention from the defense. He regularly sees double-teams and sometimes even triple-teams to ensure he isn't able to completely take over a game.

When defenses are focused on slowing him down, it opens up space for other receivers, including Reggie Bush coming out of the backfield. Without Johnson involved, the Lions don't have a wideout who can demand anywhere near that type of attention, and the entire offense bogs down.

Getting him back should provide an extraordinary boost to Detroit's ability to attack defenses.

He's a physical mismatch for just about every defensive back in the league, which explains why opponents have to devote so many resources to keeping him under control.

On the flip side, the Lions wouldn't have kept him off the field with the injury unless it was a worrisome injury. Whether he's all the way back to full strength will remain unclear until he plays a few drives, but even at 90 percent Johnson would be a force.

Detroit is off to a promising start in 2013 at 3-2. Getting Johnson back will help as it tries to keep pace with the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears in the NFC North.