Pittsburgh Steelers WR Calvin Austin III caught his first NFL touchdown in the team’s Week Three win over the Las Vegas Raiders, pulling in a 72-yard touchdown from QB Kenny Pickett to open up Pittsburgh’s scoring. However, unlike most players, Austin didn’t feel compelled to keep his first career touchdown pass, something that frustrated fellow WR Miles Boykin.
“I told him the other day you are supposed to keep that, and I saw him throw it down on the ground. For what? I don’t know anybody who doesn’t have their first touchdown ball. Yeah, that’s on him, it’s negligence on his part,” Boykin said via Bo Marchionte of College2Pro.com.
Austin said he kept his 67-yard touchdown reception from the preseason and gave the ball to his dad. He added that he never felt compelled to keep this one.
“I didn’t have any feeling of wanting to keep it for some reason,” Austin said via Marchionte. “My mindset was like you know what, Lord willing, I’m going to have other big moments and other opportunities where I feel I want to keep the ball.”
It’s a great mindset to have out of Austin, although it is maybe a curious decision not to want to keep his first touchdown ball. But in his mind, there’s going to be moments and catches a lot bigger than a Week Three touchdown reception, and you can’t knock him for that.
Boykin was seemingly more baffled than anything, but Austin doesn’t seem to view his first regular season touchdown as big of a moment as some other guys. His first taste of the end zone came in his first NFL game action against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the preseason opener this year, and maybe to him that’s a more significant touchdown, given he kept that ball. While it didn’t officially count, it’s the type of play that showed what type of receiver Austin can be in the NFL.
The Steelers have a young offense that has a lot of room to grow. I don’t think they’ve come remotely close to hitting their ceiling yet, and when they do, they could end up being a good unit. Austin is going to be a big part of that as a guy who can flip the field and change the dynamic of a game with his speed. With that, there could be a lot more big moments in bigger spots for Austin to come through. Maybe, by not keeping his first ball, he’s just keeping space open in his trophy case.
