Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson is active against the Miami Dolphins for Sunday's game at Ford Field, according to Tim Twentyman of the official team website. Johnson has dealt with an ankle injury and has not been active since Week 5 when the Lions lost to the Buffalo Bills.
Johnson sustained a high ankle sprain in September but played through it while being extremely limited. In his last two games, played against the Jets and Bills, Johnson combined for three catches and 19 yards.
Johnson expected to return this week after practicing in full and only strengthens a team that is leading the NFC North at 6-2, one game ahead of the ever-dangerous Green Bay Packers. Without Johnson, Detroit has relied heavily on Golden Tate to shoulder the load in the receiving game. Tate, brought in as a free agent this offseason, has 55 catches for 800 yards and three touchdowns. Tate's career high in yardage is 898 yards, a number he appears poised to surpass.
Johnson has not missed much time since being drafted by Matt Millen in 2007 as the second overall pick out of Georgia Tech. Throughout his first seven seasons, Johnson was sidelined for a total of five games. The man known as Megatron has a streak of four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, but is in jeopardy of it being broken. With eight games remaining, Johnson has 348 yards.