Lions running back Kerryon Johnson hasn’t played since hurting his knee in the sixth game of the season, and he won’t play this week, either. But he hopes his season isn’t over.
Johnson says that even though the Lions are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, he wants to get back on the field in Week 16 and Week 17 because he loves playing football.
“As stupid as some people may see it, I like to play, man,” Johnson said, via the Detroit Free Press. “I did all this work in the offseason, did all this work in the summer, and I didn’t do it to play five games. Obviously, my goal every year is to play a full season. Two seasons down, I’m 0 for 2. But getting to [seven games], whatever it might be, is better than where I’m at now.”
That’s the attitude of the vast majority of NFL players: For all the talk from fans about whether teams should tank for higher draft picks, players want to play, and want to win. Johnson is hoping to get two more chances to do that.