Mike Tomlin didn’t expect George Pickens to miss so much time due to injury

Although Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens was listed as questionable and is expected to play against the Cleveland Browns in Week 14, he was inactive after testing his hamstring before the game. A postgame MRI reportedly revealed a second-degree hamstring strain. Pickens has now missed three games after being inactive against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday, and while he could return against the Kansas City Chiefs, Mike Tomlin didn’t expect Pickens to be out that long.

“I didn’t,” Tomlin responded via the team’s YouTube channel when asked if he expected Pickens to take as many misses as he did.

The original injury did not appear to keep Pickens out of action for any length of time. Despite suffering the hamstring injury at work after training on Thursday, he still had a limited training session on Friday and was expected to play on Sunday, even if it was just a quick count. There was some hope that he could return against Baltimore after getting work with the team early last week, but he was unable to log practice time, was listed as DNP all week and missed the game.

The absence of their No. 1 receiver was a blow to the Steelers, as they scored fewer than 20 points in their two losses in the three games without him. He’s a player that teams need to game plan against, and without him, teams can focus more of their attention on someone like Pat Freiermuth in the passing game and also get more attention in the running game. Pittsburgh’s ground game has struggled a bit over the past two weeks, and Pickens’ absence is a factor as teams become less concerned about Pittsburgh’s downfield passing game.

If he can return against the Chiefs on Wednesday, it would be a major boost to the offense that is much needed. Without a reliable No. 2 receiver, the big question was what the offense would look like if Pickens actually got hurt, and the answer isn’t very good. While the Steelers were doomed by two turnovers yesterday, including one inside the Baltimore 5-yard line, not having Pickens has clearly been a problem over the last two games, and his return can sway the momentum of the entire offense change.

It’s certainly frustrating that he had to miss three games, but the key for the Steelers is to have Pickens as healthy as possible in the postseason as they try to make a breakthrough. Hopefully with the extra time off, Pickens can return healthy and refreshed and make an impact down the stretch for the Steelers.