George Pickens’ injury proves Steelers made Roman Wilson-sized mistake

George Pickens’ absence in Week 16 argues that the Steelers must reconsider giving rookie Roman Wilson a chance in the WR room.

The worries of Steelers fans have been confirmed: George Pickens has been ruled OUT for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 16 AFC North showdown with the Baltimore Ravens.

However, his absence from last week’s and this week’s games provides ammunition to the season-long argument regarding the Steelers’ wide receiver room: HC Mike Tomlin and OC Arthur Smith need to give rookie WR Roman Wilson a chance.

It was recently argued by Steelers insider Gerry Dulac that Wilson’s inability to stay healthy during training camp and practices early on in 2024 forced the team to move on from his contributions this year. However, Pickens’ absence should force the team to reconsider.

In the past two games Pickens has missed, QB Russell Wilson struggled to find production out of his receivers and threw for a combined 286 yards in Weeks 14 and 15.

Regardless of Tomlin claiming to have “moved on,” or any insiders believing the rookie receiver will get his chance in 2025, one thing remains certain—the Wilson-to-Wilson connection could be the much-needed medicine for this dying Pittsburgh Steelers offense.

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JuJu Smith-Schuster injury vs 49ers: Chiefs WR downgraded to OUT

#Chiefs WR JuJu Smith-Schuster is officially out for the rest of Kansas City’s Week 7 matchup against the San Francisco #49ers.

Starting wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster left the field in the first quarter during the Kansas City Chiefs matchup against the San Fransisco 49ers this afternoon. The team initially listed his status as questionable, and he has now been downgraded to out in an update released by the team.

JuJu Smith-Schuster injury update

After dealing with a hamstring issue this week, Smith-Schuster was limited in practice. He was initially listed as questionable to return, but his status has officially been changed to OUT.

How long will JuJu Smith-Schuster be out?

It is currently unknown how when JuJu Smith-Schuster will be able to return to action next week, but he will be out for the remainder of Kansas City’s Week 7 matchup.

Chiefs WR depth chart

With Smith-Schuster out, Kansas City will have to rely on Skyy Moore, Justin Watson, Mecole Hardman and Xavier Worthy while the rest of the team’s receivers are on injured reserve.

Justin Herbert OUT with injury for Chargers

Justin Herbert reaggravated his ankle injury and has been replaced by backup QB Taylor Heinicke.

Justin Herbert has been replaced by Taylor Heinicke in the Chargers’ last-drive of the 3rd quarter.  Herbert was initially questionable to play in the Week 3 contest against Pittsburgh, and many considered the wise choice for head coach Jim Harbaugh would have been to keep him off the field against the Steelers’ elite pass rush this week.

The Pittsburgh Steelers got to Herbert early and often.  The hit that took the Chargers quarterback off the field was a sack by linebacker Elandon Roberts.

Justin Herbert was visibly limping all game, and Pittsburgh ensured he felt uncomfortable with as much pressure as they could generate.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will look to place the final nail in the Chargers’ coffin, as they lead 13-10 in the 4th quarter.

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Steelers have only 3 active receivers after Van Jefferson questionable with an eye injury

Van Jefferson was pulled out of the game in Week 3 with an eye injury, leaving the Steelers with only three active wide receivers.

As if Pittsburgh Steelers’ injury concerns couldn’t get any worse, wide receiver Van Jefferson has been pulled from the game with an eye injury and is questionable to return.

This comes after rookie wide receiver Roman Wilson was deemed inactive to start the Week 3 game, leaving the Pittsburgh Steelers with only three wide receivers active for the game: George Pickens, Calvin Austin, and Scotty Miller. So far we have seen Miller more involved in the offense.

 

The last thing the Steelers needed was more potential problems on the offensive side of the ball.  It is safe to say that the Pittsburgh Steelers will continue to run the ball, focus on heavy-TE sets, utilize pass-catching RB/WR hybrid Cordarrelle Patterson, and use more quarterback designed runs to mitigate this depth issue.

Chiefs injury report: Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown listed out

WR Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown was the only player listed out on the #Chiefs’ injury report on Tuesday.

The Kansas City Chiefs are set to play the first game of the 2024 season on Thursday as they face the Baltimore Ravens for the first time since the AFC Championship Game in January.

This Week 1 matchup could have major implications toward the end of the season, and head coach Andy Reid is expected to utilize all available players for the game.

On Tuesday, the Chiefs released their full injury report ahead of Thursday’s game, which had wide receiver Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown listed as out.

Take a look at the full injury report below, which was posted by Chiefs senior team reporter Matt McMullen on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/kcchiefs_matt/status/1831068214790668321?s=46

The Chiefs will rely heavily on their depth at wide receiver to fill the gap left by the temporary loss of Brown. With the additions of Xavier Worthy and JuJu Smith-Schuster in the offseason, Andy Reid’s offense is expected to remain productive with quarterback Patrick Mahomes at the helm.

Packers downgrade CB Jaire Alexander to OUT vs. Giants

There will be no guessing game before the inactive list comes out on Monday night: the Green Bay Packers downgraded cornerback Jaire Alexander from questionable to out for Week 14 vs. the New York Giants. 

There will be no guessing game before the inactive list comes out on Monday night: the Green Bay Packers downgraded cornerback Jaire Alexander from questionable to out for Week 14 vs. the New York Giants.

Alexander will miss his fifth consecutive game after injuring his shoulder during a win over the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 5. He had been listed as questionable in four consecutive weeks before his status was changed to out on Sunday.

Alexander, a two-time All-Pro, has played in only five games this season: Week 1 at Chicago, Week 2 at Atlanta, Week 5 at Las Vegas, Week 8 vs. Minnesota and Week 9 vs. Los Angeles. He played 332 defensive snaps, or 95 percent of the defense’s snaps, over the five games.

Alexander has four pass breakups and a tackle for loss in 2023.

The Packers will be expected to start rookie Carrington Valentine and Corey Ballentine on the perimeter at cornerback with Keisean Nixon in the slot against the Giants.

Alexander joins receiver Christian Watson as the two players ruled out for the Packers. Linebacker Quay Walker is doubtful to play, and three others are questionable.

Packers rule out WR Christian Watson (hamstring) for Week 1 vs. Bears

The Packers ruled out WR Christian Watson for Week 1 against the Chicago Bears. Watson missed the entire week of practice with a hamstring injury.

The Green Bay Packers will be without top wide receiver Christian Watson for Week 1 against the Chicago Bears. Coach Matt LaFleur ruled out Watson, who missed the entire week of practice because of a hamstring injury, on Friday.

Receiver Romeo Doubs, who is also dealing with a hamstring injury, is going to be listed as questionable on the final injury report, per LaFleur, but he practiced on both Thursday and Friday and could play Sunday.

Watson is the Packers’ No. 1 receiver and the offense’s top playmaker in the passing game. Without him, the Packers will have to lean more on second-year receiver Samori Toure and rookies Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks and Malik Heath in Week 1. The team may also elevate Bo Melton or Grant DuBose from the practice squad to add depth, especially considering Doubs’ injury situation.

LaFleur said Watson will likely be “week to week” while he recovers from the hamstring injury. He also said not having Watson won’t “drastically” alter the plan, but it’s a “curveball” the Packers had to deal with while preparing for the Bears.

In 2022, the Packers were 1-4 in games Watson either didn’t play or was on the field for less than 25 percent of offensive snaps. The Packers averaged 14.2 points per game in the four losses.

Despite a slow start created by injuries, Watson caught 41 passes for 611 yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie last season. He hauled in three passes for 48 yards and a touchdown and had the game-sealing 46-yard touchdown run during the Packers’ win over the Bears at Soldier Field last December.

Seahawks will hold RB Adrian Peterson out Week 14 with back injury

The Seattle Seahawks will not elevate running back Adrian Peterson from the practice squad to face Houston Week 14 due to a back injury.

Future Hall of Fame running back Adrian Peterson made his first appearance in a Seattle Seahawks uniform last Sunday in the team’s win over the San Francisco 49ers. Unfortunately, Peterson won’t be available Week 14 in Houston against the Texans.

Because Peterson remains on Seattle’s practice squad and not the active roster, the Seahawks don’t need to report his injury or practice status but coach Pete Carroll confirmed Peterson won’t be elevated to play this week.

“Adrian, he had a lower back issue that came up, and he felt it a little bit coming into Wednesday, and then on Wednesday he couldn’t go,” Carroll said after Friday’s walkthrough. ‘We’re going to hold him out. We’ve got to take care of him and look after him.”

Rashaad Penny and Alex Collins, who have both been battling injuries as well recently, should be good to go in Houston.

You can find the final injury report of the week here.

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Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb ruled out vs Raiders

The Cowboys top wideout will miss his first game of the season after being unable to clear concussion protocol just four days after banging his head. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys spread hope in every which way imaginable this past week, trying as they often do to will things they want into existence. It rarely works, and it didn’t this time either. Wideout CeeDee Lamb suffered a concussion at the end of the first half against Kansas City on Sunday, crashing the back of his head into the ground on an underthrown Dak Prescott pass that was intercepted by Chavarius Ward.

Lamb, who leads the club in targets (77), receptions (50) and his career-high six receiving scores, never returned to action after halftime and went through the concussion protocol. He cleared everything but the final examination with an independent neurologist and has been ruled out of Thursday’s contest with the Las Vegas Raiders, according to Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer.

This of course compounds the problem as Dallas’ offense is already without WR Amari Cooper, missing his second consecutive game on the COVID reserve list. The offense did not have a great game last week even before Lamb was lost and it seemed in part to the additional focus Chiefs defenders were able to pay everyone else with no Cooper. Now the Raiders have neither of the top two wideouts to contend with.

That puts a lot of pressure on Michael Gallup, TE Dalton Schultz and the reserve receivers to step up in the contest. Cedrick Wilson and Noah Brown each dropped two passes last week and the club failed to integrate Malik Turner into the contest until late. Dallas may also be wise to give Tony Pollard a bigger role as one of the quickest, shiftiest players on the team.

Ezekiel Elliott has been hobbled with a knee issue for several weeks though he continues to tough it out and show up every week.

Prescott will have his work cut out for him in trying to solve the Raiders defense and avoid a third loss in four games for a team that started the season winning seven of eight.

Dallas will welcome back Tyron Smith for the first time in four games, but playing without their top two wideouts along with their top two edge rushers in DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory makes for very tough going.

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Seahawks have healthy roster heading into Week 1 against the Colts

The Seattle Seahawks have a healthy roster heading into Week 1 against the Colts, without a single player listed on the injury report.

The Seahawks departed Seattle for Indianapolis on Friday with one of the healthiest rosters they’ve ever had. Not a single player was listed on the injury report as questionable, doubtful or ruled out ahead of the Week 1 matchup against the Colts.

“I don’t remember another time,” coach Pete Carroll told reporters after the walkthrough. “I don’t. It’s a good thing. It’s a real positive.”

Seattle opted to not play most of its starters throughout the three-game preseason, keeping guys fresh and ready for the real deal. All the rest seems to have paid off heading into the season opener.

“It has to do with a lot of elements – the conditioning that the guys put forth to get ready, then once they got here, working with our training staff and strength and conditioning and all of that, and good fortune too,” Carroll continued. “It’s a pretty good list right now.”

The Seahawks will square off against the Colts on Sunday morning – kickoff is set for 10:00 a.m. PT.

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