Tez Johnson injury update: Dan Lanning elaborates on status of Oregon WR

The Oregon Ducks lost star wide receiver Tez Johnson in the win over Michigan, with Johnson appearing to re-aggravate a shoulder injury. Now, head coach Dan Lanning shared an update on his status moving forward.

While Lanning emphasized that he doesn’t want to risk further injury, he did elaborate and gave a positive update. The Ducks are expecting Johnson back relatively soon.

“I’m gonna tell you the same thing I always tell you,” Dan Lanning said. “As soon as they’re ready to go, we’ll have them out there. We’re going to put player safety first. Tez will be down, certainly, right now in the near future but I do anticipate us getting Tez back here soon.”

This comes after it was reported that Tez Johnson would avoid needing surgery. That means the expectation is that he can return this season.

Johnson appeared to suffer the injury on Oregon’s first offensive series of the game against Michigan. He caught a screen pass but was thrown to the ground along the sidelines, landing hard on his upper body and shoulder. From there, he went into the Oregon injury tent. The broadcast later reported that he went to the locker room, favoring his shoulder.

“Same with Marcus [Harper]. I think neither one of those injuries are as bad as maybe they appeared on the field, and I think we’ll have those guys back, but I don’t know when that looks like right now,” Lanning said. “But we’ll do what we always do. Take care of the players and what’s in the best interest of them. Both those guys are fighting to get back as soon as we can have them.”

This season, Tez Johnson has been one of the most productive wide receivers in the entire country. He has 64 receptions for 649 yards and eight touchdowns. He also has eight carries on the season for 51 yards. That makes Johnson fifth nationally in receptions and first on Oregon in receiving yards. It’s the type of production that is very difficult to replace.

In place of Tez Johnson, Oregon will likely lean on senior wideout Traeshon Holden, sophomore receiver Justius Lowe, and junior Evan Stewart to replace his production.

Oregon has three games remaining in the regular season. That starts with Maryland this week, who is traveling across the country to play in Eugene. For both Dan Lanning and the rest of the Ducks, the hope is that they’ll then have a deep run in the College Football Playoff that they’ll need Tez Johnson healthy for.