Lions WR Calvin Johnson stood at his locker Sunday afternoon and laughed at the suggestion. His coach, Jim Caldwell, had said that Johnson at 90 percent was better than a lot of players at full strength.

Except Johnson, when he was asked if 90 percent was a fair barometer for his status, was not there.

“Nah,” Johnson said, laughing at the suggestion.

Johnson was limited during the Detroit Lions' 24-17 win over the New York Jets on Sunday after being questionable to play with an ankle injury suffered against Green Bay last week. He was used far less than he had been in the Lions’ first three games, when he was typically in the game for at least 75 percent of the plays.

On Sunday, he rarely played two plays in a row and was only targeted twice by quarterback Matthew Stafford, catching both of those passes for 12 yards. He didn’t have his typical explosiveness or speed and after the game was still noticeably limping.

“Went out there. It was tough but I figured from moving around [on Saturday] that I’d be able to get on the field a little bit,” Johnson said. “It’s good to be out there with the fellas. It sucks to be on the sideline and not be able to play at all. It sucks to have injuries, too, but that’s just part of the game.”

It looks like he was the dreaded decoy, leaving fantasy owners with just a couple of points from their stud WR. The good news is there were no setbacks and Johnson, though limited in practice last week, felt like he improved all last week. It's now a big question how Johnson is used in Week 5. The story said a similar approach will be taken with Johnson over the next week as the team prepares for the Bills. Johnson didn't practice Wednesday and Thursday and was limited on Friday of last week. The Week 5 game is a 1 p.m. contest so we'll know Johnson's status at least.

The Lions have released a favorite receiver of Matthew Stafford. Kris Durham, a former college teammate and roommate of Stafford’s, was cut today.

Durham played well at times for the Lions, but when Detroit signed Golden Tate this offseason there was one less roster spot available for a wide receiver, and it appears that Durham will lose the numbers game to be one of the backups behind Tate and Calvin Johnson.

The Lions were very deep at WR in camp this year and unfortunately for Durham he's the odd man out. For now it appears to be good news for often-injury Ryan Broyles who is back healthy and has looked good.

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is off to an exceptional start to the preseason, completing 11-14 passes for 106 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. Two of those incompletions were drops by running back Reggie Bush.

Bush's hands have been an issue much of his eight-year career. He had the NFL's worst drop rate among players with 50 or more targets last season, letting nine passes slip through his hands. He also fumbled five times, losing four.

After dropping a pass in each of the team's first two preseason contests, there would seem to be cause for concern, but neither the tailback or coach Jim Caldwell are worried about the issue lingering into the regular season.

"It's just a matter of getting the timing down, here and there," Bush said. "That's what the preseason is for, getting that timing down with the quarterback. It will get there."

The Lions are implementing a new offensive scheme this season, and many of the routes and alignments for the running backs and receivers have been tweaked. Bush believes he and Stafford just need to continue to work on their timing together on the practice field, the story went on to say. Unfortunately for Bush, Joique Bell and Theo Riddick are capable receivers out of the backfield too, so if it continues to be an issue, he may end up losing snaps. Bush has an ADP of the fourth round with Bell's being in the sixth.

Lions QB Matthew Stafford seems to be embracing the “new is always better” philosophy.

After five years under the same coaching staff, the Lions’ signal-caller is learning from three new coaches — Jim Caldwell, offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and quarterbacks coach Jim Bob Cooter — that were hired to help reverse his regression from the past two seasons.

“It’s just different,” Stafford said. “I’m being coached differently, our drops are different, our reads are different, the plays are totally different.

“So it was kind of nice to just scrap everything and start from new with the way they wanted me to do it, and I’ve been trying to embrace myself in that as much as I possibly can and it’s been fun.”

According to the story, he's excelling in the offense as well - he's yet to throw an interception in 7-on-7 or 11-on-11 drills. Sure practice is one thing, but Stafford will get a shot to continue that trend at least for a limited time in his first preseason game. Stafford is looking like a great fantasy option if you want to wait until the top-three are off the board and grab someone more toward the middle rounds of your draft.

Golden Tate's stay on the physically unable to perform list was a short one as the Detroit Lions announced the wide receiver has been cleared to return to the field, hours before the team's first training camp practice.

Tate, who injured his shoulder during an OTA practice earlier in the offseason, was placed on the PUP list as a precaution when he reported to camp on Tuesday. 

The sure-handed Tate is coming off his best professional season, catching 64 passes for 898 yards and five touchdowns for the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. The hope is Tate can be a nice complement to Calvin Johnson. Tate's ranked 33rd among our WRs and we consider him a WR3 with upside, provided he can connect with QB Matthew Stafford.