Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson said nerve damage he sustained from a two big hits in a game two months ago has made it tough for him to grip the ball.
Johnson, who has been sidelined with a knee injury this week, told the Detroit Free Press on Thursday he is still dealing with aftereffects of the hits.
“Taking those hits, they’re real violent,” Johnson said. “They definitely have a lot of lingering impact on whether it be your neck or your head in (Jahvid Best’s) case. It can do a lot of stuff.”
In that game, Johnson took a hit to the sternum as well as helmet-to-helmet hit that he said caused him to have a concussion. Lions coach Jim Schwartz repeated Thursday that he Johnson did not have a concussion.
Last week, Best’s season was declared over after he failed to pass concussion tests more than year after suffering his head injury.
“Not to blame it on that, but I think that the concussion maybe could have had something to do with some of that damage I had going on,” said Johnson, calling the injury a “stinger” that shot numbness down his arm.
Johnson has 767 receiving yards this season with one touchdown after eight games. Last season he led the NFL with 16 touchdown catches.