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Brooke Pryor, ESPN Staff Writer
PITTSBURGH — Steelers leading receiver George Pickens will not suit up against the Browns on Sunday.
The third-year player, who has 850 receiving yards and three touchdown catches this season, is inactive after popping up on the Steelers’ practice report with a hamstring injury Friday. He had been listed as questionable for the rematch with the Browns.
Sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Saturday night that there was optimism Pickens would be able to play.
Before Sunday, Pickens hadn’t missed a game since being selected by the Steelers in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft. While Pickens will be out, wide receiver Calvin Austin III is active after exiting the concussion protocol earlier this week.
Pickens made headlines in the Steelers’ Week 12 loss to the Browns when he got in a scuffle with cornerback Greg Newsome II during a game-ending Hail Mary attempt. This week, Pickens said he didn’t know who Newsome was when asked whether he would talk to the defensive back Sunday.
The volatile wide receiver was also fined more than $20,000 for two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties called against him in the Steelers’ win against the Cincinnati Bengals on Dec. 1. The flags against Pickens prompted coach Mike Tomlin to call on his wide receiver “to grow up.”