Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III is looking to show a lot in his second NFL season after missing his entire rookie season due to a foot injury. On Tuesday, the Memphis product and fourth round draft pick in 2022 posted a video update on his Instagram account and it shows that he his back running again.
Austin underwent his foot surgery in early November so at this point he’s nearly three full months removed from it. As you can see in the video below, Austin is not yet running in a full sprint but that’s not a big deal this early on in the offseason.
After the 2022 regular season ended, Austin updated his condition.
“Rehab is going well and I’m excited for next year,” Austin said.
Austin supposedly suffered his foot injury in the practice before Steelers’ first preseason game. That resulted in him being never playing a snap inside an NFL stadium as a rookie, spending the season on the Reserve/Injured List. While he did return to practice after a number of weeks, he unfortunately had a setback with his foot and subsequently had surgery..
The Steelers got virtually nothing out of the slot position during the 2022 season so assuming he can get back to his pre-injury form this offseason, Austin figures to definitely help the Steelers’ offense slot situation in 2023. It will, however, be interesting to see if the Steelers wind up drafting yet another wide receiver this year and one a little bigger than Austin is that can also play in the slot.
Austin caught 137 passes for 2,202 yards and 19 touchdowns in 23 games over his final two collegiate seasons at Memphis. At the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine, Austin timed in the low 4.3s in the 40-yard dash. In spite of his short stature, the Steelers viewed him as inside-outside-capable because of his speed and elusiveness. Here’s to hoping he gets an opportunity to prove it in 2023.
