Whichever comes first, insult and injury as a pair is never fun. The Pittsburgh Steelers got a good amount of both on Sunday courtesy of the San Francisco 49ers in their home-opening loss. Now it’s a matter of finding out how big the injuries are—the insult, by the way, was 30-7.
While the most significant injury appeared to be for DL Cameron Heyward, who could potentially be facing groin surgery, we are also awaiting word on WR Diontae Johnson, who went down with an evident hamstring injury early in the second half.
A former Pro Bowler, he has been a veteran starter for the team for the past few years. While second-year George Pickens has all the talent in the world, he is still figuring out some of the nuances of the game that will win him more opportunities in the future.
Should Johnson miss time, the Steelers will be without a considerable component of their offense, but as always, the mentality is next man up, and Pickens is confident that whoever they have in that room will be capable of keeping things going.
“I feel like every receiver that we got has played outside before. That’s just left and right”, he said, via Amanda Godsey. “If you’re a shorter guy you’re probably gonna play slot a little bit, but besides that, everybody knows how to play receiver”.
Should Johnson miss time, which seems likely, there probably won’t be a one-for-one replacement starter, but the top three contributors won’t be in doubt. Pickens will be one, and Allen Robinson II and Calvin Austin III will be the other starters, however they may divide their snaps.
Also on the roster are special teamers Miles Boykin and Gunner Olszewski, the latter the backup kick and punt returner who was a healthy scratch for the opener. Needless to say, he will be dressing until Johnson gets back.
Robinson led the way for the Steelers in the opener with five catches on eight targets for 64 yards, including a game-long 31-yard reception. Johnson had 48 yards on three receptions, 26 of which came on the play on which he injured his hamstring. Pickens had five receptions for 36 yards, Austin six for 37.
One player the Steelers need to get involved a lot more is TE Pat Freiermuth, who had just one catch for three yards—albeit in the end zone for the team’s only score. QB Kenny Pickett did target him four times, but they need to get this connection going.
Assuming Johnson is sidelined, it will give the offense the opportunity to spread out the available targets and probably result in a wide variety of personnel groupings. Players like Connor Heyward and Darnell Washington, for example, could also see increased opportunities, as well as the running backs. Even Anthony McFarland Jr. caught two passes, including one for a major fourth-down conversion.
