As the Pittsburgh Steelers’ focus shifts from sifting through the blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles to preparing for the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday, much of the focus centers on the health of the team, particularly on standout wide receiver George Pickens.
During his weekly press conference Monday, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin left the door “ajar” for Pickens to play against the Ravens, along with S DeShon Elliott, DL Larry Ogunjobi, OLB T.J. Watt, CB Donte Jackson and QB Justin Fields.
Pickens, Elliott and Ogunjobi missed the Eagles game with injuries while Watt, Jackson and Fields were all injured in the game.
Pickens has missed the last two Steelers’ games while dealing with what has been reported as a Grade 2 hamstring strain. But while the door is ajar for Pickens to play this week, the Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac reiterated his report from last week that he does not expect Pickens to play against the Ravens.
“Yeah, that’s right, I don’t expect [Pickens to play],” Dulac said Monday morning during an appearance on 102.5 WDVE. “And the problem is, you’re talking about three games in 11 days. And so that’s the problem. Instead of having a longer stretch, certainly after the Baltimore game to the Kansas City game, but instead it’s four days. And so that just narrows his window even more so based on his type of injury and the timetable.
“I am not expecting him to play. I’m not gonna sit here and tell you he won’t. Just not expecting him to play.”
The Steelers are 1-1 without Pickens on the season, beating the Cleveland Browns in Week 14, 27-14, but then losing Sunday to the Eagles, 27-13. Now, the matchup Saturday against the Ravens, where the AFC North would be sewn up for the Steelers with a win, has all the attention.
It would be huge if Pickens can play. But Dulac isn’t expecting that.
Pickens popped up on the injury report on Dec. 6 ahead of the Browns matchup as a limited practice participant and was listed as questionable entering gameday against the Browns. The plan, according to Tomlin, was for Pickens to test the hamstring pregame and then likely play.
But things changed drastically pre-game, which led to the Steelers shutting him down and giving him an MRI after the game.
Dulac reported last Monday that the MRI revealed the hamstring injury was more significant than the Steelers had previously anticipated. Dulac also reported that Pickens has a Grade 2 hamstring injury, which is a slight tear.
Typically, recovery time on a Grade 2 hamstring strain is 4-8 weeks but based on research from Steelers Depot’s Dr. Melaine Friedlander, the latest recovery time for a Grade 2 hamstring strain is 2.4 weeks.
Pickens has missed two games, which fits that timeline from Dr. Mel, but with a short week to prepare for the Ravens, it’s real toss-up if Pickens can go, even with Tomlin leaving the door open for him.
Getting Pickens back would be a massive boost for the Steelers’ offense, which couldn’t do much of anything against the Eagles, generating just 163 total yards.
