Here’s everything you need to know injury-wise for Week 15.
After being a late scratch for their Week 14 win over the Cleveland Browns, George Pickens is likely to sit out for the Pittsburgh Steelers again.
While head coach Mike Tomlin said there is an “outside chance” Pickens plays against the Philadelphia Eagles, the hamstring injury the wide receiver is dealing with is a “little bit more significant” than the team initially believed.
“We’re just in the mindset now of just getting him healthy as quickly as we possibly can,” Tomlin said. “There’s a potential for this week, but it’s an outside chance. If you press me, I’d probably say he’s out or could be characterized as doubtful as we sit here, but again, like we always do, we’ll go through the normal procedure, we’ll let participation be our guide in terms of availability and then obviously the quality of that participation.”
Pickens has recorded a team-high 850 receiving yards on 55 catches with three touchdowns.
The 3-10 New York Jets have little to play for, so it won’t be a surprise to see Breece Hall miss a second straight game on Sunday when they visit the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The second-year running back sat out last week’s loss to the Miami Dolphins with a knee injury and has yet to practice this week. Hall suffered an ACL injury to the same knee in 2022.
“He’s a guy who’s proven to be such an amazing teammate this year and his commitment to this game has gone to another place,” interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich said of Hall on Wednesday. “His process had gone to another place, and he’s been playing with a little bit of pain and fighting his way through that. But it’s a thing that’s maybe not improving as much as he’d like at this point. So, we’ll see how it goes this week.”
Should Hall, who has 692 rushing yards and four touchdowns, along with 401 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns, not be able to go, Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis will step in to work again. The rookie running backs have produced with Allen rushing for 43 yards while also catching four balls last week and Davis picking up 40 rushing yards and a touchdown along with three receptions for 27 yards.
Saints’ David Carr remains in concussion protocol
Jake Haener is in line for his first NFL start should New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr be ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Washington Commanders, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
Carr is in concussion protocol and is also dealing with a fracture in his non-throwing hand suffered during their Week 14 win over the New York Giants. He was listed as doubtful to play by the Saints on Friday.
Spencer Rattler also has a shot to start in Carr’s place, but interim head coach Darren Rizzi said this week that he wanted to evaluate both backups in practice before making a decision on a starter.
Evan Engram suffered the injury in Week 14 against the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said on Wednesday he expected the veteran tight end to play this week, but things changed over the last 48 hours.
“Unfortunately we’re going to lose Evan for the year,” Pederson said Friday. “After more MRI results, testing and all that, he’ll have a labrum to get fixed. So, he’ll have surgery and fix the shoulder and miss the rest of the year.”
Engram played nine games this season, recording 365 receiving yards on 47 receptions and one touchdown. He’s the fourth key offensive player to be ruled out for the season, joining wide receivers Christian Kirk and Gabe Davis and quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Kenneth Walker III remains out of Seahawks’ practice
After missing last week’s win over the Arizona Cardinals, running back Kenneth Walker III missed practice on Thursday. An ankle injury has been bothering him and he has not participated since last Wednesday.
The injury, according to head coach Mike Macdonald, is not a long-term concern, but Walker’s status for this week remains in question.
“He’s still day-to-day right now,” Macdonald said. “It got more kind of complicated as the week went on, so that’s why we had to do some more tests and stuff, but right now there’s positive signs. So we’ll just say day-to-day I think is fair, but it’s not long term.”
Zach Charbonnet filled in for Walker last week and ran for 134 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.
Here’s the the rest of the Week 15 injury report: (Players will be added after teams release their reports.)
LB D’Marco Jackson (ankle): out
WR Bub Means (ankle): out
QB Derek Carr (left hand, concussion): doubtful
DE Tanoh Kpassagnon (Achilles): questionable
S Tyler Nubin (ankle): out
LG Jon Runyan (ankle): out
DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches (neck, shoulder): out
LB Bobby Okereke (back): out
CB Andru Phillips (shoulder): out
TE Evan Engram (shoulder): out
S Jalen Pitre (shoulder): out
WR Ashton Dulin (ankle): out
T Braden Smith (persona): out
LB Jaylon Carlies (fibula, shoulder): questionable
WR Josh Downs (shoulder): questionable
C Ryan Kelly (knee): questionable
WR Jalen Reagor (finger): out
