ALLEN PARK -- Jamal Agnew doesn't think his knee injury is serious. But it appears to be serious enough to keep him from playing on Thanksgiving.

The Lions' electric return man missed a second straight day of practice Wednesday and is not expected to play against the Vikings.

Coach Jim Caldwell said TJ Jones and Golden Tate could return punts against Minnesota, while Ameer Abdullah could handle kickoffs. Abdullah handled the role after Agnew went down with a knee injury late against Chicago on Sunday.

Agnew was able to walk off the field on his own power, and later told MLive that he believes the injury isn't serious.

"I'm good," Agnew said. "Knee just stiffened up on me a little bit. Don't know the extent of it, but it's not feeling too serious. But we'll see. Get it looked at tomorrow and see what happens.

"I wasn't too scared. I knew it wasn't too serious. We'll see what happens. Get it looked at and take it from there."

But with just four days to prepare for Thanksgiving, Agnew just didn't have much time to get right. By sitting him against the Vikings, he'll have an additional 10 days to heal up before facing the Baltimore Ravens.

The loss would be a big blow for the Lions (6-4), who face one of the hottest teams in the league in a near must-win scenario. They could pull within a game of the Vikings (8-2) with a win on Thanksgiving, or fall three back with a loss, and just five games to go.

Agnew has been one of Detroit's best weapons this season, leading the league in punt returns and special teams touchdowns. He's also been a valuable weapon on offense the last three weeks, gaining 21 yards on three touches, and operating as an effective decoy on several other plays.

That's excellent production for an offense that has otherwise struggled mightily to run the ball. And it'll be missed as Detroit prepares to face one of the top defenses in the league.

"You watch the special teams tape, and if I was the defensive coordinator I'd pay attention (to him), too," quarterback Matthew Stafford said. "He's electric when he gets the ball in his hands. He's done a nice job for us every time he's touched it. And he's built a nice little package in our offense."

Running back Dwayne Washington also missed practice and is not expected to play.