Bills wide receiver Stevie Johnson couldn't finish last week's game in Houston due to a thigh contusion suffered in the first half. After skipping Wednesday's practice with the injury, Johnson returned to the practice field Thursday.
"Everything was good today," said Johnson following Thursday's practice. "I went through the full practice, all the plays and it felt good."
"He looked good today," said head coach Chan Gailey. "I thought he moved around extremely well considering the injury."
Johnson was still listed as a limited participant in practice, but he plans to do more in practice Friday.
"It just feels a little weak," said Johnson of his thigh. "Of course it's not going to be normal because I got banged on it, but it's all good. It definitely went better than I thought considering the pain I was in just yesterday, but working with the training staff I got it right."
Like most NFL receivers, Johnson does not wear thigh pads or hip pads in games, but that won't be the case anymore.
"From now on I'm definitely wearing thigh pads and the Nike compression shorts (underneath) so hopefully I won't have to go through this again," said Johnson.
Johnson said most receivers don't wear them because they feel the pads restrict their stride length or feel cumbersome on their legs. But Johnson admits that whether they truly slow a receiver down is probably more psychological than anything.
"I guess it is mental until you get hit in the thigh or the knee area and then it's like it doesn't even matter if it's too tight or feels a little bulky," he said. "It's all good until you get hit."
The Bills top wideout said if you take a good hit and have the thigh pad on it won't be as bad as having an unprotected thigh taking the shot as was the case for him last week.
