George Pickens is out against the Browns: What does it mean for Steelers?

A late week injury addition, the Steelers are keeping Pickens benched today, and it could cost the team.

Pittsburgh Steelers v Seattle Seahawks
Pittsburgh Steelers v Seattle Seahawks | Jane Gershovich/GettyImages

Well, it is officially the worst-case scenario for the Steelers this week, as George Pickens was officially ruled out of the Browns game roughly an hour and a half before the opening kickoff. Pickens has been a vital member of the team's offense this year, so this is a major blow to the passing offense.

Reports surfaced late in the week that Pickens was suffering with a sore hamstring. That injury proved to be bad enough to force the team to withhold him during a pivotal AFC North matchup. Even against a three-win team, losing Pickens for a divisional game is always going to be difficult

The Steelers are lacking another receiver even remotely close to the talent level that he provides, and it makes this game that much harder on paper. A thin wide receiver corps will need to play one of their best games of the season.

Steelers need WRs to step up without George Pickens vs. Browns

The Steelers receiver room quality has been a talking point all season. The team largely opted to just roll with Pickens as their lone top guy. They added Mike Williams at the trade deadline, but he has yet to prove much of anything in this offense. Losing him this week hampers the offense and the vertical passing game.

While this more than likely stems from a legitimate injury, Pickens was once again making waves this week when interviewed about Greg Newsome. Pickens and Newsome nearly came to blows in the previous meeting after the game and had to be retrained from each other. When asked about him this week, Pickens replied with a childish answer implying he didn’t know who he was.

While I struggle to think that the team would actually bench him for that reason, it could have been considered when making the final decision. Hamstrings are tricky, so the team can save face, let him heal up, and avoid any more bad publicity or costly penalties from Pickens this week.

No matter the reason, the rest of the receiver room needs to step up. Calvin Austin will be the most accomplished receiver available this week, but Van Jefferson and the aforementioned Williams will also need to show up. The tight end room will also play a major role in the passing game. The loss of Pickens this week will test the receiver room's depth and quality.

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