The shrewd acquisition of veteran Allen Robinson II via trade earlier this offseason kept the Pittsburgh Steelers out of a position in which they had to rely on second-year wide receiver Calvin Austin III. A 2022 fourth-round pick, the diminutive speedster spent his rookie season on the Reserve/Injured List. He suffered a foot injury before the team’s first preseason game.
In other words, the only fans who have gotten to see him in action in person are the ones who attended the first handful of training camp practices last year. By all accounts, he looked impressive then, but as good as he feels now, he told Brian Batko recently that he knows there’s still more to recover as he regains his pre-injury speed.
“I do feel as fast, but honestly, I think by the time August comes, I’ll feel my full speed”, he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette during the Steelers’ spring practice sessions. “It’s like I’m there, but I still know I’ve got a little more in the tank. I’m in a position now where I feel well enough to know I can go to those next three or four gears”.
That’s a big deal when your principal attribute is your 4.32-second speed. That’s the time that he ran in the 40-yard dash at the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine. And it’s quite fast, an element that the Steelers’ offense has been missing for a number of years.
The Steelers believe that, in spite of his small size, his speed and quickness can make him an inside-outside threat even at the NFL level. If defensive backs can’t get their hands on him, they feel, he is going to win the rep most every time.
The initial injury and its extent were never really disclosed, but even the coaching and medical staff expected him to return last season. He did begin practicing following the bye week, but he aggravated the injury during that process and ultimately had surgery to repair the damage.
Robinson, who was with the Los Angeles Rams last season, has also been recovering from a season-ending foot surgery, but his game no longer relies upon pure speed at this stage of his career. Both reportedly appeared to be fully healthy by the end of minicamp.
But both have also expressed the belief that they are still rounding their way back into their peak football form, even if their injuries are now healed. There’s still plenty of time for them to get to where they want to be, of course, before the regular season begins.
Austin figures to enter the year as the Steelers’ fourth receiver behind Diontae Johnson, George Pickens, and Robinson. With the way his coaches and teammates have been talking about him, however, it does sound as though he very much figures into their offensive plans with an active role, not just as the next man up. That’s what having a special trait will do for you.
