Various insiders have reported on George Pickens’ hamstring injury over the last 24 hours, but now Mike Tomlin has offered an update of the star wide receiver’s status for this week and his health in general. The fact that he nearly played against the Cleveland Browns made many think it was a minor injury, but Tomlin clarified that an MRI revealed it to be worse than initially expected.
“When we got to the stadium, it became evident that maybe the circumstance was a little bit more significant than we had hoped, and so we made the prudent decision of shutting him down and not letting a small problem to become a bigger one,” Tomlin said Tuesday during his weekly press conference via the Steelers’ YouTube channel. “Postgame, we had an opportunity to get him an MRI. The injury did show up on MRI. It was a little bit more significant than what we imagined.
“We’re just in the mindset now of just getting him healthy as quickly as we possibly can. There’s a potential for [Pickens to play] this week, but it’s an outside chance. If you pressed me, I’d probably say he’s out or could be characterized as doubtful as we sit here.”
As normal, the Steelers will go through their typical procedure of seeing how Pickens responds to treatment throughout the week. The door wasn’t fully shut, but it seems 90 percent of the way there based on Tomlin’s words. I think we can also glean that based on how Tomlin and the medical staff have handled other soft-tissue injuries this year.
Nick Herbig recently hinted that he probably could have returned a game earlier, but the Steelers wanted to be extra cautious with his hamstring injury. Herbig missed four games and that included the extra week for the Steelers’ bye. They were cautious in bringing him back, but they had the luxury to do that with Preston Smith, Alex Highsmith, and T.J. Watt on the roster.
Russell Wilson’s calf was handled with extreme caution, and Tomlin even used that same line of wanting to avoid a small issue from becoming a large issue in regard to Pickens. The Steelers had Justin Fields to alleviate the urgency there, and they were winning with him at that.
Tomlin described how the Pickens injury initially occurred.
“Leading up to the game, he experienced some hamstring discomfort post-practice on Thursday getting some post-practice work. Felt pretty good on Friday. We decided to exercise a little bit of precaution, worked with him in a limited fashion on Friday,” Tomlin said. “Wanted to save all those bullets for Sunday.”
This led to their realization on Sunday that it was worse than expected.
George Pickens’s return is a bit more urgent as the clear No. 1 WR, but the Steelers basically have their playoff spot locked up. It’s better to hold him out a game or two rather than risk losing him for the playoffs. This is especially the case with three games in 11 days coming up against three very good teams.
Tomlin was asked specifically about the “big-picture element” of trying to be cautious with Pickens to make sure they don’t aggravate the injury, and he dismissed that as being a big consideration.
It’s encouraging that Tomlin didn’t completely shut the door on Pickens this week. Maybe he will be available against the Baltimore Ravens next week, but I still feel like there’s a chance that Pickens needs another week or two to play it safe as the Steelers have with similar situations this year.
