Steelers Injury Updates Steelers News
Steelers Get More Injury Details for George Pickens, Could Miss Eagles Game
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens missed his team’s win on Sunday over the Cleveland Browns with a hamstring injury, and it’s no sure thing that Pickens will be able to return next week against the Philadelphia Eagles, either.
Pickens suffered the injury late in the week last week and was limited in practice on Friday. He was expected to be able to play in some capacity when the Steelers went through walkthrough on Saturday, but he was unexpectedly scratched after a pre-game workout at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday.
According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in an appearance on the DVE Morning Show on Monday, Pickens suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain, and his status for next week’s game in Philadelphia remains up in the air.
The Steelers are entering the toughest stretch of their schedule that also features consecutive condensed weeks. After playing the Eagles on Sunday, the Steelers will travel back to Pittsburgh for a short week ahead of a Saturday game in Baltimore against the Ravens on Dec. 21 and a four-day turnaround before they host the Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 25.
That up coming travel, three straight outdoor games in cold weather, and the condensed timeframe between games could cause the Steelers to be more cautious than normal with Pickens’ injury.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said after the game that Pickens could have played, but not a full workload, and the Steelers didn’t want to risk him injuring it further.
“[He] was listed as questionable, we didn’t feel like he was gonna be able to play the type of number of snaps that we thought was worth putting him in an uniform, to be quite honest with you,” Tomlin said. “We didn’t want a small problem to become a big problem, so we put Scotty Miller in a helmet.”
Miller rewarded that faith with three catches for 38 yards on four targets, including a spectacular toe-tap grab in the fourth quarter to move the chains.
The Steelers likely don’t need to force Pickens into the lineup this week if he’s not 100%. Though they have not clinched a spot, the team has a 99.7% chance of making the playoffs per DVOA, and win or lose, they will still need a win over the Ravens in Week 16 to clinch the AFC North.
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