Report: Lions' 'Megatron' says he played concussed

DETROIT LIONS wide receiver Calvin Johnson said Thursday that he returned to a game this season after suffering a concussion, according to reports.

Johnson, nicknamed "Megatron," told the Detroit Free Press that he suffered a concussion after a helmet-to-helmet hit from Minnesota Vikings linebacker Chad Green in Week 4.

The Lions, who had a bye the following week, face the Eagles on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.

"He rung my bell pretty good, he got me, he caught me around the chin, that was a good hit," Johnson told WXYT-FM Thursday in Detroit. "It's a part of football, you get concussed, you gotta keep on playing. You can't get afraid to go across the middle any more than you were at the beginning."

Later, Johnson explained his comments, saying he meant to say that a receiver can't be afraid to go over the middle.

"Not that if you're concussed that you've got to keep playing," Johnson said.

When asked if had suffered a concussion, Johnson told the Free Press, "Yeah, yeah, he knocked me good. You could tell. It was obvious."

Johnson may have termed the hit "good," but the NFL fined Green $21,000 for unnecessary roughness.

Lions coach Jim Schwartz said Johnson cleared the concussion test on the sideline and was permitted to return to the game.

"Our evaluation was that he was not concussed," Schwartz told the Free Press. "He was thoroughly checked."

In other team news, police confirmed to NFL.com and NFL Network that the Lions' defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was involved in minor car accident in Dearborn, Mich.

Police said, there were no injuries, and no alcohol or drugs involved so they are not investigating the incident.

Suh is facing a lawsuit over injuries suffered during a 2011 wreck in his hometown of Portland, Ore.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel has been ruled out for Sunday's game at Tampa Bay with a concussion, and Brady Quinn will start an NFL game for the first time since the 2009 season.

Cassel was hurt in the fourth quarter of a loss to Baltimore last Sunday. Quinn, a former first-round draft pick, hasn't started a game since he was with the Cleveland Browns.

Ricky Stanzi, the Chiefs' fifth-round draft pick last year, will serve as the backup.

* A person familiar with the situation says New York Jets guard Matt Slauson has been fined $10,000 by the NFL for his season-ending block on Houston linebacker Brian Cushing.

Slauson rolled into Cushing, who tore his left anterior cruciate ligament in the second quarter of the Texans' win Monday night. Cushing was placed on injured reserve Wednesday.

Another person with knowledge of the situation told the Associated Press that Slauson will appeal the fine.

* New England Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes said he was joking when he tweeted that he was "homophobic."

Spikes, who is having a strong season, is a prolific user of Twitter.

He tweeted on Wednesday night that, "I'm homophobic just like I'm arachnophobic. I have nothing against homosexuals or spiders, but I'd still scream if I found one in my bathtub !"

After receiving several negative comments on Twitter, he tweeted, "PEOPLE !!!! It's a joke . . . seriously a JOKE !!! Chill out"

Before the NFL officials' lockout ended, Spikes posted a tweet that compared replacement officials to Foot Locker employees.

* Minnesota Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen has been excused from the team indefinitely following the sudden death of his mother. No details of her death were immediately available.

Minnesota plays at Washington on Sunday.

* Reggie Bush joined the Miami Dolphins injury list with a sore knee. The team's leading rusher was added to the IR after being limited in practice. He hurt his left knee Sept. 23 against the New York Jets but has started every game.