Missing nearly an entire summer due to injury is never easy. Doubly so when there’s a new quarterback. Still, WR Calvin Austin III doesn’t foresee a bumpy ride as he climbs back onto the Pittsburgh Steelers’ moving train. Speaking to reporters following Saturday’s practice of which Austin was at least a partial participant, he thinks he can get back on track.
“Since this happened in camp, my process was the exact same as everybody else,” Austin said via the team’s YouTube channel. “I was in all the meetings, walkthroughs, everything. So I really didn’t miss a step mentally or anything.”
Austin injured his oblique during the team’s Friday Night Lights practice on August 1. He missed the remainder of training camp and all three preseason games, returning to practice days ago on a limited basis. It’s reasonable to believe he’ll avoid beginning the year on IR and be ready for the season opener 15 days from now, even if his snap count is limited.
The only thing Austin needs to get back is his wind.
“Probably the only thing that I’m far back in, if I’m being realistic, is just my conditioning,” he said. “But besides that, everything goes pretty smooth.”
Gaining chemistry and timing with Aaron Rodgers wouldn’t hurt, either. But Austin’s shown to be a quick study and hard worker who proved capable of making splash plays last season. Only a handful of 2024 receivers, all elite names, had more 20-plus yard touchdowns than Austin’s four.
If he can get back to that early in the regular season, his summer injury will just be a blip on the radar.
No matter how training camp went, Austin and Roman Wilson were poised to split time at wide receiver opposite DK Metcalf. That should still hold true. Perhaps Austin’s snap count will tick down a few as he gets his legs under him, as Roman Wilson makes play, and as Scotty Miller impresses. But the season is a long one and whoever stands out starting in September will pull away from the others.
