Calvin Austin III made some nice plays to start training camp. Since then, things have been radio silent on his end. That’s due to an injury Austin picked up in camp that we still don’t know much about. Steelers insider Mark Kaboly thinks it might be time to worry about Austin’s health.
“Let’s not sugar coat, Calvin Austin’s out for two weeks now,” Kaboly said on 93.7 The Fan on Friday. “You don’t go out two weeks and nobody really confirms what the injury is if it’s bumps and bruises associated with the play. I don’t want to say significant, but it’s something that’s a little bit worrisome. So, you can’t go into that season then with Metcalf and what else you have right there.”
Austin suffered his injury at the beginning of August. On Aug. 3, a little over a week into training camp, Mike Tomlin didn’t mention Austin along with other names that he expected to miss multiple days. Tomlin has kept quiet on the injury, still describing Austin as “day-to-day” earlier this week.
Injuries are something that haunted Austin during his first season in the NFL. He had to miss his entire rookie season as a result and made a minimal impact in 2023. Then in 2024, he managed to put those injury woes behind him, playing throughout the season and having a nice year with over 500 receiving yards and four touchdowns, which led all Steelers receivers.
However, the injury bug seems to have gotten him again this year. It could still be a minor ordeal, but Tomlin has been describing Calvin Austin as day-to-day for multiple weeks now. Which sort of defeats the purpose of the day-to-day label itself.
If Pittsburgh had more depth at receiver, this wouldn’t be as much of an issue. However, Austin was expected to be DK Metcalf’s main sidekick at the position. Especially with little in terms of proven depth behind those two.
Interestingly, Kaboly also predicted earlier this week that Pittsburgh might add another receiver in the coming weeks. As roster cuts begin and more players hit the market, they might have desired to add a receiver during that time frame regardless of Austin’s injury. But with no timetable for getting Austin back on the field, one has to wonder whether his injury has made them more willing to bring in another body.
The good news is, if it was something major, we’d already know by now. However, it’s not a great sign that Calvin Austin is missing a significant portion of training camp and likely the entire preseason. Hopefully, Austin can get back on the field before it goes from “worrisome” to something more problematic.
