Pittsburgh Steelers WR Calvin Austin III isn’t counting on a reserved roster spot this year—and neither is rookie CB Beanie Bishop Jr. Head coach Mike Tomlin, and secondary coach Grady Brown have matched them up early and often, each testing one another. As Austin sees it, it’s best for both himself and for Bishop—and the team as a whole. But he’s not pulling his punches.
“Those matchups are the iron-on-iron component of things. That’s why it takes both guys. It takes me trying to kill every DB I go against in order to make myself better and them better”, Austin said via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. As for Beanie Bishop, “Like I said, just trying to kill him every single time. When he gets into the preseason game, I want him to feel like the best player he don’t win against is still me”.
Calvin Austin III is in his third season after the Steelers drafted him in the fourth round out of Memphis. He spent his rookie season of 2022 on the Reserve/Injured List due to a foot injury but made the 53-man roster last year. While he had a big highlight touchdown early on, he ultimately played a minor role in the offense. He is focused on continuing to improve so that he can provide more highlights going forward, mastering his craft.
“Especially in this setting, you get so many reps, so you end up going against some of the same guys. They’re gonna begin to know your tendencies, and you’ll learn theirs”, he said, including Bishop. “And then from there, that’s when you get to that next-level thinking. ‘Okay, they know I usually do this. How can I make this look like this, play this off this?’”.
Beanie Bishop Jr. is a rookie college free agent out of West Virginia who signed with the Steelers after the draft. The Steelers liked him enough to offer him a $25,000 signing bonus, which is a healthy amount for undrafted rookies. You can tell how much they liked him just by Omar Khan’s reaction shortly after the draft.
Both Austin and Bishop are undersized for their positions of wide receiver and cornerback, respectively. Austin and Bishop are each 5-9, though Bishop is closer to making weight. The former is the Steelers’ punt returner but wants a bigger role in the passing game. The latter needs to worry about making the team but can open the year starting as the slot defender. Both are trying to make themselves and the other better.
“I’ve gotten a lot of reps against Beanie [Bishop Jr.], him in the slot. Just talking to him, going against him—he’s always asking questions”, Austin said. “Just giving him tips on what he could do to make things a little more difficult for a receiver”. The Steelers are interested enough in Bishop that they wanted to see him on George Pickens.
By all accounts, Calvin Austin III has a good head for the game, but many question his ceiling. How much can a 5-9, 162-pound wide receiver do in the NFL? He’s fast, and he plays with physicality as far as his frame allows. He also knows how to run routes and is continuing to hone that area of his game.
