Steelers' Mike Tomlin Gives Clear Update On George Pickens; Calls Injury Worse Than Expected

The Pittsburgh Steelers will need all the help they can get for this upcoming stretch of games. They will have three games in an 11-day span, starting in Week 15 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Pittsburgh will have to use all the able bodies that they can to make sure that no one gets overworked too quickly. The Steelers have appeared to finally get healthy, as only one player was even listed as questionable, and everyone assumed that he would play. Unfortunately, it sounds like the Black and Gold might be without their star wide receiver. 

During his typical Tomlin Tuesdays press conference, Head Coach Mike Tomlin gave an update on his injured receiver: George Pickens. He started off by explaining why he missed the team's Week 14 game against the Cleveland Browns.

"[George Pickens] experienced some hamstring discomfort post-practice on Thursday, getting some post-practice work. Felt pretty good on Friday, we decided to exercise a little bit of precaution and work him in a limited fashion on Friday and wanted to save all those bullets for Sunday. I wanted to see what he looked like when he got to the stadium and then make a determination of how many plays we thought would be appropriate to utilize him in. Obviously, if he wasn't going to be a full participant, we wanted to gear his participation toward weighty passing-game moments, but when we got to the stadium, it was evident that the circumstances were a little more significant than we had hoped, and so we made the prudent decision in terms of shutting him down and not allowing a small problem to become a bigger one."

At first, the Steelers just thought that Pickens had just a minor issue that would heal up quickly. Players feel discomfort more often than many people realize. Sometimes it can be something meaningful, and sometimes it's just tightness that can be worked out without a problem. The hope and the thought was that Pickens was just dealing with a regular strain or cramp. 

Tomlin continued on with his Pickens update and gave some troubling news that the team really can't afford to hear.

"Postgame, we had an opportunity to get him and MRI. The injury did show up on the MRI. It's a little more significant than what we imagined, and so we're just in the mindset now of getting him healthy as quickly as we possibly can. There's a potential for this week, but it's an outside chance. If you press me, I'd probably say he's out or could be characterized as doubtful as we sit here."

Gerry Dulac previously reported that Pickens was diagnosed with a Grade 2 hamstring injury. He said that the recovery time for that usually takes two weeks, which would line the receiver up to come back in Week 16 to face the Baltimore Ravens. That would be nice, but for now, they have to focus on facing the Eagles. 

Steelers Miss Pickens, Even If They Don't Say It On Camera

Without Pickens in Week 14 against Cleveland, the passing game had trouble getting off the ground. It got better as time went on, but it still was not an ideal situation. Their top receiver was Pat Freiermuth, who had just three receptions for 48 yards, along with a score. Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin III, the two main starters without Pickens, combined for two receptions for 14 yards. Jefferson caught a touchdown as well, at least.

During the postgame press conference, Tomlin made fun of the media for saying that the Steelers didn't have a true WR2 on the team during training camp and preseason. While the Steelers managed to score 27 points, it still didn't look like there was a receiver that could take over and step up as a starter. Scotty Miller was their most productive wideout, with 38 receiving yards on three receptions.

What do you think about Pickens probably missing the team's Week 15 game? Let us know in the comments.

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