Soft-Tissue Injuries Becoming Concerning Trend for Steelers
Wide receiver George Pickens missed Sunday’s Pittsburgh Steelers win over the Cleveland Browns with a hamstring injury, and he’s expected to miss next week’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles, as well.
It’s the first time in his three seasons that Pickens has missed time with an injury, so not playing on Sunday was a new experience for him. But important players sitting out with soft tissue injuries has become all too common for the Steelers this year.
Pickens is the sixth Steelers player to miss time thanks to a hamstring injury this season. Add in a calf injury to Russell Wilson and a groin for Alex Highsmith and eight Steelers players expected to contribute have missed time with soft-tissue injuries this season.
That’s a significant increase from last year, when just six such injuries occurred throughout the entirety of the season. In 2023, the Steelers lost 23 man-games from expected contributors due to soft tissue injuries. This season, eight players have missed 36 games with such injuries, and with four games left to play in the coldest, wettest, most-violent portion of the schedule, that number will surely rise.
STEELERS 2023 SOFT-TISSUE INJURIES
James Daniels, groin, 2 games
Minkah Fitzpatrick, hamstring, 3 games
Pat Freiermuth, hamstring, 6 games
Pressley Harvin III, hamstring, 2 games
Cam Heyward, groin, 6 games
Diontae Johnson, hamstring, 4 games
STEELERS 2024 SOFT-TISSUE INJURIES
Justin Fields, hamstring, 1 game
Nick Herbig, hamstring, 4 games
Alex Highsmith, groin, 3 games
Tyler Matakevich, hamstring, 7 games
George Pickens, hamstring, 1 game
Cory Trice Jr., hamstring 9 games
Roman Wilson, hamstring, 7 games
Russell Wilson, calf, 5 games
Tomlin was asked about the concerning trend during his weekly press conference on Tuesday, and whether or not he’d make any changes to the team’s practice plans as a result.
“That is ongoing and continual,” Tomlin said. “But I just think that’s normal, business operating procedure. I think if you’re going to be good at what we do, you’d better have a hardcore plan, while at the same time being light on your feet to make necessary adjustments.”
Last offseason, Tomlin made a big change to his strength and conditioning staff, parting ways with 23-year veteran Marcel Pastoor and his entire staff, and bringing in a new crop of coaches led by Greenville, Pa., native Phil Matusz.
“I just thought it was time,” Tomlin said at the NFL owners meetings in March. “I just thought we got so many talented young big people. I wanted to put some fresh expertise into their growth and development. As an organization, you know, we own the development of our young players. And so, I’m just really excited. The acquisition of young talented players like Broderick (Jones) or Keeanu Benton is just a component of it. Their growth and development over the course of a 12-month calendar is equally as important as their talent. And so, I’m excited about the moves that we made there and in the fresh vision that we’re going to have in terms of some of our player development.”
Whether its changes to the Steelers’ practice habits or patterns or another change to the coaching staff, Tomlin seems to have some work to do when it comes to preventing soft-tissue injuries among his players.
Note: Players placed on injured reserve before the season that were not expected to be contributors were excluded from this analysis. Data via Pro Football Reference.
Update, Dec. 12: The hamstring injury to Justin Fields was omitted in the initial analysis.
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