Is Tez Johnson playing in Oregon's season finale against Washington?

Oregon is facing its last test of the regular season on Saturday evening as the Ducks will face rival Washington with a playoff berth and perfect regular season on the line. But will the Ducks have one of its top players available after missing the past few weeks?

Tez Johnson has been out since the Michigan game when he injured his shoulder in the first half on his lone reception. But some are optimistic that he'll be back this week against Washington.

Johnson shared a picture of himself on his Instagram just last week with the caption "he's back" signaling that he was ready to take the field again for Oregon. That social media post sparked rumors that he was officially returning for the season finale, but mum has been the word on his status ever since.

According to SI.com, Dan Lanning spoke to the media this week about some key injuries and Johnson's Instagram post came up. Lanning essentially shook it off and said that he wasn't going to talk about injuries and that we'll see them on the field again when they're ready.

A classic coachspeak non-answer.

But it does seem like Johnson was cleared to return after seeing his Instagram post. Also, right after the injury, Lanning said he was out for the immediate future, but he did anticipate getting him back this season. Well, it's been a few weeks and that fits the timeframe that Lanning originally alluded to.

There's no certain answer regarding Johnson's status for Saturday, but reading between the lines, it sounds like Johnson will be available. Will Lanning hold him out for the Big Ten title game and the playoff as a precautionary move? Potentially, but he'll have a hard time telling a healthy Johnson "no".