When will WR George Pickens take the field for the Pittsburgh Steelers next? If Mark Kaboly had his way, he wouldn’t play again until the games turn win-or-go-home. The third-year veteran is currently dealing with a hamstring injury, which is more serious than initially believed. Though still undetermined, he could miss multiple additional games after sitting out Sunday.
Although he hasn’t found the end zone as frequently as desired, George Pickens is clearly the Steelers’ biggest threat on offense. He has 55 receptions on the season for 850 yards, averaging 15.5 yards per catch, three finding the end zone. On the season, he has 16 receptions of 20-plus yards, three of 40-plus. He is an incredibly valuable weapon—which is why, Kaboly believes, caution is warranted.
“I wouldn’t play him until January 11 for the AFC Wild Card Super Round, or whatever they call it now”, he said of Pickens on 93.7 The Fan yesterday, and he pointed out that is a pattern consistent with how the Steelers have handled injuries this year, exercising an abundance of caution.
That goes right back to Russell Wilson, who injured his calf before the first training camp practice. They frankly tried bringing him back gradually, only for him to experience an aggravation. The Steelers don’t want George Pickens dealing with the same thing, only returning when he is as healthy as possible. They have also taken the cautious approach with Nick Herbig and Alex Highsmith recently, for example. Kaboly did expand on his reasoning further.
“I want him at 110 percent, because I think this team could go win on the road with George Pickens”, he insisted. In other words, he would go so far as to sacrifice the division title if it meant guaranteeing Pickens’ health. “I want a 110-percent healthy George Pickens moving forward here, and if that means keeping him out four weeks, a month, until the first round of the playoffs, so be it”.
Later on in the interview, Kaboly doubled down, insisting that he was serious about believing the Steelers should hold George Pickens out until the playoffs, all the while concluding the team was not likely to do so. “Absolutely, I wouldn’t be playing him”.
“Imagine bringing him back for a game against the Bengals. Just say you need it to win the AFC North, you’ll get the 3 or 4 seed, and he tweaks the sucker again”, Kaboly said. “Because once you tweak it once, and unless it’s 150 percent, it could be easily tweaked again. Then you’re going into the playoffs without George Pickens”.
While I understand Kaboly’s point, it may be a bit too extreme. Obviously, the Steelers will look like fools if they bring Pickens back for the finale, with the playoffs guaranteed (if it’s guaranteed), only for him to aggravate his hamstring injury and miss the postseason. But you still want to maximize your playoff seeding. That is especially true for a team that hasn’t won a playoff game since 2016. And as you know, Mike Tomlin doesn’t live in his fears (except when he does).
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