The Pittsburgh Steelers are putting a plan together to face the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 15 of the regular season, and the biggest story for the black-and-gold is the injury status of wide receiver George Pickens. In case you forgot, Pickens showed up on the injury report Friday, and was listed as questionable before the game vs. the Cleveland Browns last Sunday. On game day he was deemed inactive and missed the game.

Some thought it was a punishment while others thought it was just the Steelers playing it safe. Tuesday Mike Tomlin met with media during his weekly press conference, and he outlined the timeline of what happened with Pickens, and what his recovery might look like.

Tomlin talked about how Pickens tweaked his hamstring after practice Thursday doing extra work with the team. When Pickens reported to practice the next day he felt pretty good on Friday. The team wanted to exercise precaution on Friday, which was why he was listed as limited in practice. Ultimately, the Steelers were focused on wanting to see what he looked like on Sunday for the game vs, the Browns.

When Pickens got to the stadium, Tomlin talked about how it was evident the circumstance was more serious than they hoped. It was at that time when the team decided to shut him down and hold him out of the Week 14 tilt. After the game the Steelers wanted to get Pickens an MRI, and the injury was significant enough to show up on the MRI results.

Tomlin was asked if the goal is to think more “long term” with Pickens, but he made it very clear the objective is to get their star receiver healthy as quickly as they possibly can. He outlined his potential to play this week, and it wasn’t good. Tomlin said there is an outside chance, but if he was pressed about the injury status he would label Pickens as “out” or “doubtful” as of Tuesday. As always, the Steelers will let participation be their guide regarding player availability.

Not all injury news was bad, and Tomlin said there were several players who are in a better position to participate this week vs. the Eagles in Philadelphia.

The two players who might be limited early in the week would be Larry Ogunjobi (groin) and DeShon Elliott (hamstring tightness), but Tomlin said they will watch them in the early part of the week and hopefully see an uptick of the quality of participation. Cornerback Donte Jackson was also mentioned, and Tomlin said he was sick Sunday, but was able to get through. After the game Jackson said he was experiencing back spams, but said he should be good after the game.

Any other injury would be labeled as minor bumps and bruises associated with competition and were specified by Tomlin. To lost Pickens for a big game like this one vs. the Eagles stings, but getting him back for the Baltimore Ravens in Week 16 should be the ultimate goal for the Steelers at this juncture.

Be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the Eagles this Sunday in Week 15. To hear more about Tomlin’s complete press conference, check out our Press Conference Recap podcast with Dave Schofield in the player below.