UPDATE: 12:41 PM/ET
According to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, a league source has confirmed that it’s a Grade 2 hamstring injury for George Pickens. We will see what Tomlin has to say on Tuesday, but that doesn’t bode well for his participation this week or possibly longer.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter talked about this on the Pat McAffee Show this afternoon, adding slightly more context.
“They absolutely were planning on him playing,” Schefter said. “…I think what happened was he woke up Friday morning, it was tight. They held him out of practice Friday. He went through the walkthrough on Saturday and that was giving them the idea that he intended to paly. And I think George absolutely intended to play. And then they met as a team before the game and ultimately, I guess medical people prevailed there.
“They decided that it was in his best long-term interest yesterday to hold him outta the game, and so that’s exactly what they did.”
The reports of a Grade 2 injury and the reports of Pickens nearly playing don’t seem to mesh. Tomlin, or more likely the practice participation this week, will ultimately tell us what’s going on.
Read the original story below.
The Pittsburgh Steelers passed a major test by winning without WR George Pickens in Week 14 against the Cleveland Browns. Mike Tomlin told the media after the game that they held Pickens out to prevent a small issue from becoming a larger one, though most of the reporting leading up to the game stated Pickens would be playing.
According to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac, the injury is legitimate, and that George Pickens is likely to miss next week’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
“He has a Grade 2 hamstring injury, which, that’s typically two weeks,” Dulac said Monday via 102.5 WDVE’s Morning Show with Randy Baumann. “So I don’t think they’re expecting him to play in Philadelphia either.
“When you get that type of hamstring injury, it’s typically two weeks. So the expectation is that he won’t play in Philadelphia either, but we will see how that progresses.”
Pickens popped up on the injury report last Friday with a questionable designation for the game. After being an unexpected inactive, several members of the national media wondered if it was a disguised disciplinary measure, HC Mike Tomlin benching Pickens for some of his recent issues, including poking the bear by saying he didn’t know who Greg Newsome II was last week.
Dulac dispelled those rumors by stating he is in fact injured.
The passing game made enough plays against the Browns, but it wasn’t terribly efficient. QB Russell Wilson went 15-of-26 for just 158 yards and two touchdowns. Mike Williams was more involved with Pickens out, but the Steelers were nowhere near as explosive as they have been without him in the lineup.
Against the 11-2 Philadelphia Eagles, that could be a major problem. We will see how Pickens progresses throughout the week, but Tomlin has been playing it safe with soft-tissue injuries this year. The Steelers have their eyes on a deep playoff run, so it’s better to rest Pickens now than lose him for the rest of the season.
Missing two games would likely seal the deal on Pickens’ chances of making the Pro Bowl and possibly push him outside the top 10 receivers in yards. It isn’t a huge deal, but Pickens has made it clear that he wants to make the Pro Bowl after feeling snubbed a year ago.
We probably won’t get a ton of clarity unless the national reporters chime in, but a Grade 2 injury is typically longer than the two weeks that Dulac is suggesting. Hopefully it is just a Grade 1 injury.
