George Pickens, T.J. Watt injury updates: ESPN insider shares status of Steelers stars ahead of Ravens game

The Pittsburgh Steelers are in a battle for the AFC North with the Baltimore Ravens, making Saturday’s game on the road absolutely vital to both teams.

Ahead of that game, the Steelers are dealing with a pair of major injuries to wide receiver George Pickens and edge rusher T.J. Watt. On Thursday morning’s episode of Get Up, ESPN insider Adam Schefter shared an update on Pittsburgh’s stars.

“Well, George Pickens hasn’t practiced this week and my understanding is it was a grade two hamstring strain and those hamstring strains usually sideline a player about a month,” Schefter explained. “He’s missed two games. He hasn’t practiced this week. That tells you that it’s only a matter of time before he’s ruled out for this game and doesn’t play. Keep in mind in the first game he played against the Ravens earlier this year he had eight catches for 89 yards, was a major factor, and it looks like the Steelers will have to find a way to make do without George Pickens this week.”

Since Pickens originally went down, the Steelers are 1-1 and are coming off a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. During that stretch, the Steelers are averaging 20 points per game. The passing offense is averaging just 127 yards passing per game.

As for Watt, Schefter was a little bit more positive about his ability to play but also made it clear that he likely wouldn’t be at full strength for the game.

“As for T.J. Watt, he suffered a sprained ankle last weekend against the Eagles. Came around a corner, came up lame, was limping a long, didn’t look great, underwent testing. It’s a sprained ankle,” Schefter said. “But it’s the type of sprained ankle that would sideline most players about two weeks. If you watch the video of him at practice yesterday, it didn’t look like he was moving. He looked a little hobbled.”

Watt is one of the NFL‘s most decorated defensive players. A four-time First Team All-Pro selection, Watt has led the NFL in sacks three times and is vital to the Steelers on defense.

“So, T.J. Watt is always the kind of guy who’s gonna be out there, who’s gonna want to be out there against Lamar [Jackson],” Schefter said. “He’s played against Lamar I think five times and had 8.5 sacks against him. Sounds like he will try to play, but it doesn’t sound like he will be 100 percent or be typical T.J. Watt.”

The Steelers currently hold a one-game lead in the division over the Ravens. Without two of their top players at full strength, Pittsburgh will need someone to step up to maintain that slight lead.