While Mike Tomlin hasn’t ruled out Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens for Wednesday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Pickens has yet to be cleared by doctors with the game just two days away, he told reporters including ESPN’s Brooke Pryor.
Pickens says that he feels good, but the decision will come down to the coaches and the doctors and he’s still not sure if he’s playing.
He added that today’s practice being a walkthrough didn’t give him a good opportunity to test his hamstring.
“We was really walking, so I didn’t really get to fully go,” Pickens said via video posted by Chris Adamski of TribLive on Twitter.
Pickens suffered a hamstring injury ahead of the team’s Week 14 matchup with the Cleveland Browns and has missed the last three games. Without its No. 1 receiver, Pittsburgh’s passing offense has taken a step back, and there’s been hope that Pickens will be able to return this week. Tomlin said yesterday there’s a “real chance” that Pickens will be able to play on Wednesday and having him healthy would be a big boost for Pittsburgh’s offense against the 14-1 Chiefs.
He was a limited participant in yesterday’s estimated injury report, which seemed to be a promising sign after he was a DNP last week. He did get work in off to the side last week but never was able to practice and was ruled out ahead of Pittsburgh’s Week 16 game against the Baltimore Ravens.
It sounds as if Pickens will play if he’s cleared, but the question then would become how many snaps he would play and if he would be on a snap count. But it all comes down to getting clearance, which would have to come in the next two days.
This season, Pickens has 55 receptions for 850 yards and three touchdowns and has been Russell Wilson’s favorite target. Pickens has been the biggest beneficiary of Wilson’s deep ball, and he’s averaging 15.5 yards per reception. With Wilson, that number is 16.8 yards per reception, and his production has been missed by Pittsburgh. Tomlin explained that defenses can stack the box more with Pickens out and that it’s impacted Pittsburgh’s run game, so his loss has been felt throughout the offense.
Tomlin also said in his weekly press conference yesterday that he didn’t expect Pickens to miss as much time as he has, and if he isn’t cleared, that time could be extended. With the Steelers already clinching a playoff berth, the most important thing is having Pickens healthy for the postseason, and with an extended break before Week 18, Pickens may be able to come back for the Cincinnati Bengals game to get a tune-up game before the playoffs. The Steelers would like to have him back on Wednesday, and we likely won’t find out until Christmas morning before the game if he’s playing.
