Pittsburgh Steelers fans got a shock early Sunday with the news that wide receiver George Pickens would be inactive for Week 14. Pickens popped up on the injury report with a hamstring injury, listed as a limited participant in Friday’s practice ahead of their rematch with the Cleveland Browns, so it’s not like fans didn’t have a small heads up that there was trouble afoot.

However, it seemed like based on HC Mike Tomlin’s pre-game comments that Pickens would suit up, as he noted in a pregame interview that he was “hopeful that it will be a non-issue, but obviously we’re prepared to manage his reps if muscle fatigue becomes a factor.”

Just about 40 minutes after that clip was shared by CBS, Pickens was officially declared inactive, with trade deadline acquisition Mike Williams to get the start in his place.

In his opening statement during his post-game press conference, Tomlin shared, “‘G.P.’ [George Pickens] was listed as questionable. We didn’t feel like he was going to be able to play the type of number of snaps we thought would be worth putting him in a uniform for, to be quite honest with you. We didn’t want a small problem to become a big problem.”

Tomlin followed that up with acknowledgment of the efforts of Scotty Miller, who played Sunday with Pickens out, though he’d been inactive in three of the team’s last four games leading up to Week 14. Miller caught three of his four targets for 38 yards, including a clutch sideline grab that went for 21 yards in the fourth quarter.

It’s no secret that there have been some problems this year for Pickens, primarily in regard to discipline on the football field, where he’s accumulated a number of costly penalties — both in terms of their on-the-field impact and his bank account, having been fined $20,462 for unsportsmanlike conduct against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13. That’s led to some speculation on social media that there may be something more in terms of his lack of availability in this game. However, if Pickens is injured, it would make sense for the team to be on the cautious side when it comes to his rep management, as the team looks to play beyond 17 games.

Week 14 marked the first game Pickens has missed in his NFL career.