George Pickens update leaves Steelers in bad spot at the worst time

There's one obvious answer for the Pittsburgh Steelers to turn to as George Pickens' injury looms.
Pittsburgh Steelers v Washington Commanders
Pittsburgh Steelers v Washington Commanders / Patrick Smith/GettyImages
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The Pittsburgh Steelers might be without their top receiver longer than they anticipated. According to Steelers Depot and Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, George Pickens could be missing more time with a Grade 2 hamstring injury than they originally thought. 

And while the Steelers were able to make it work against the ailing Cleveland Browns on Sunday, with Philadelphia on the horizon, being without Pickens could come to haunt the Steelers. 

Despite all his antics, Pickens has been a solid No. 1 receiver for the Steelers. He has 850 yards and three touchdowns this season. He’s been the big-play threat for the Steelers all year. Without him against one of the best teams in the NFC, the Steelers will be searching for one of their other receivers to step up. 

Georgie Pickens is sidelined longer than they thought, so who will step up as Steelers playoff race amps up?

The Steelers traded for Mike Williams for a reason. And now we might finally get to see that reason. Williams has been a gadget player at best since he arrived in Pittsburgh. He made a cameo against the Browns on Sunday. 

Now that Pickens will miss more time, Williams has to be the player to step up. And it’s up to Mike Tomlin and Arthur Smith to figure out how to utilize him. When he was in Los Angeles, he was a deep threat as well. 

This is the perfect chance for him to find a role as the Steelers need an immediate answer. Pat Freiermuth and Calvin Austin have been decent second options. Freiermuth is the obvious choice to pick up the slack. He’s been the most consistent receiver aside from Pickens. 

The Steelers made a trade deadline move to get Williams for a reason and we haven’t seen why yet. This is their chance to unleash Williams. He doesn’t have to do a lot. He just has to do enough to help the Steelers as Pickens recovers. 

They’ll need as many weapons as possible. They have one of the worst red zone scoring offenses this season. They’ve had to settle for field goals and that may not be enough. The Steelers were fortunate enough to get past Cleveland without worrying about missing Pickens. 

Pittsburgh won’t get that lucky against the Eagles this week. 

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