Steelers WR Calvin Austin sees year on IR as ‘blessing’ as he preps for possible breakout Year 2

He’s never set foot on an NFL stadium field nor put on a Pittsburgh Steelers uniform for a game. He’s had only a handful of padded practices as a pro.

But if you look at the Steelers’ official roster, Calvin Austin III is listed as a second-year player. His accrued service time via official credited seasons, too, label Austin as being in his second NFL season.

Austin, from his point of view, feels the same way. What the speedy-but-diminutive wide receiver lacks in NFL game experience, he believes, is more than overcome by what he learned by being around the Steelers as a rookie on the injured reserve list in 2022.

“In the beginning, it was extremely tough,” Austin said of an August foot injury that prevented him from playing in any preseason or regular-season game, “just because I really wanted to go out there and be able to contribute right away.

“But I was just blessed to be in the position I am in, because from my teammates to the coaches and the training staff, how they all surrounded me and filled me up and kept me around, it made it to where last year was a blessing because I got to watch and learn — everything. And that’s why now I feel like, I know I didn’t play — but I feel like I got a whole year of experience under my belt.”

One of the more intriguing players to watch during training camp and a pivotal, wild card-like presence on the Steelers’ 2023 offense, Austin feels not like a rookie but as a second-year player as he prepares to report to Saint Vincent a second time 2½ weeks from now.

Though he’s the smallest player on the Steelers’ roster at 5-foot-9, 162 pounds, Austin’s track-star speed is a potential explosive asset for Kenny Pickett & Co. this coming season.

“Calvin, you know, we were all … there at that camp last year,” offensive coordinator Matt Canada said recently, referring to how Austin’s speed wowed coaches and media members last July and early August. “What Calvin brings to the table and his unique skill set is something that I am excited about, and I know our whole staff and organization is excited about.”

A fourth-round pick last year out of Memphis, Austin was timed at 4.32 seconds in the 40-yard dash. A member of the school’s second-team All-America 400-meter relay team, Austin was also an all-conference receiver by way of posting 74 catches for 1,149 yards and eight touchdowns.

Austin was, in theory, the perfect yin to the yang of the Steelers’ second-round pick — the 6-foot-3, 200-pound George Pickens — as a possible future core of WRs for Pickett.

But while Pickens flashed his potential as a rookie, Austin never was given that chance. After 2½ weeks of impressive highlights at Saint Vincent, Austin was an unexpected scratch for the Steelers’ preseason opener.

While at the time, coach Mike Tomlin expressed optimism Austin would “back to it sooner rather than later,” Austin did not participate in practice the remainder of the preseason and opened the regular-season on injured reserve.

Though he was cleared to return to practice during Week 5, Austin’s foot injury suffered a setback and he was done for the season. That at least allowed Austin to turn the page to preparing for 2023.

“Everything went great after the surgery,” Austin said after an organized team activities session this spring. “That’s been a part of my whole offseason: (in Pittsburgh), rehabbing, working with (team) staff, so I think it just all paid off. I have been thankful and blessed to have a successful surgery — the trainers, coaches, rehab, everybody involved in that process was great. Right now, I feel great and I am just ready to keep on attacking.”

Austin confirmed that at one point he was repping as part of a first-team offense along with starting receivers Diontae Johnson and Pickens. By all indications, the injury is behind him.

Speculation is Austin could compete for a role in the slot, though newly acquired veteran Allen Robinson has been given a look there. Still, with those two being different types of wide receivers, it could depend on matchup or situation. Austin is also adept at playing on the outside.

The bottom line is that if Austin is healthy — and can stay so — and proves that at his size he can thrive at the NFL level, he will be a fascinating weapon to add to the offense.

“He brings a unique skillet in terms of his stop/start and the speed element,” Steelers wide receivers coach Frisman Jackson said. “We missed that last year. He’s a guy who can take the top off the coverage going from 0-60 (mph) just like that, so he’s been showing that stuff and we are just trying to develop different parts of his game, see what roles he can do and try to put him in positions where he can be successful and use that speed and explosiveness to his advantage and to our advantage.”

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