Multiple credible Pittsburgh Steelers insiders reported a Grade 2 hamstring injury for George Pickens. While our very own Dr. Melanie Friedlander made the case for why Pickens’ injury shouldn’t keep him sidelined too long, that is based on when he would technically be medically cleared to play. The Steelers might opt to play it safe as they have with other injuries this year, and with three games in an 11-day span coming up, that could put all three games in jeopardy.
Already having missed a game, this hamstring injury could suddenly cost Pickens a quarter of the season, and the most important quarter of the season at that.
Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo had this to say about Pickens’ injury.
“This three-game stretch in 11 days, there’s not gonna be a lot of time for him to get on the practice field and really test it out,” Fittipaldo said via 93.7 The Fan’s PM Team. “I would not be surprised if he missed the next three games. I would be a bit surprised if he missed that last game against the Bengals because I think if it was that serious, they probably would’ve put him on IR and maybe made a move and brought Roman Wilson back.”
The Steelers basically have a playoff spot locked up, though it isn’t fully clinched yet, but they are playing for a possible 1-seed or at least winning the AFC North and guaranteeing a home playoff game. His injury potentially puts all of that at risk.
There is a two-game buffer against the Baltimore Ravens for the AFC North lead at the moment, but with a head-to-head game coming up next Saturday, that lead could be cut down rather quickly. They could be in a dead heat entering the final two weeks of the regular season.
“I’m not too optimistic about the Eagles, Ravens or the Chiefs, but I do think there’s a chance for that finale against the Bengals,” Fittipaldo said.
If a Grade 2 hamstring typically needs two or three weeks to heal, the difficult part is that the injury was suffered so late in the week before the Browns game. Today is technically one full week, and by this time next week they will be just a couple days away from their Saturday game against the Ravens. That makes practice participation difficult for Pickens to test out the hamstring and get enough prep work in by the time he’s cleared to practice.
That same issue would then arise in a four-day turnaround from Saturday to Wednesday as the Steelers host the Chiefs. Nick Herbig, Russell Wilson, and others have said similar things about feeling like they are ready to return prior to the team giving them the thumbs up. The Steelers are playing things safe, so it wouldn’t be overly surprising to see George Pickens sidelined until Week 18 at the beginning of January.
As Mike Tomlin said, they don’t want a small problem to turn into a large one. Losing Pickens for the playoffs would indeed be a large problem.
