The Pittsburgh Steelers’ fourth-round pick won’t make it onto the field for his rookie season.
Wednesday was the deadline for the Steelers to add Calvin Austin III to the active roster. But the day’s practice came and went, and the Steelers made only one announcement regarding a player on injured reserve — and it wasn’t Austin.
That means Austin is lost for the season, a league rule that dictates a player must be activated within a 21-day window after returning to practice. Austin was cleared to practice Oct. 5 after he began the season on IR because of a foot injury suffered just before the preseason opener.
The No. 138 overall pick out of Memphis, Austin was one of the fastest players in the draft. Generously listed at 5-foot-9, Austin was a candidate to contribute significantly to the Steelers offense and return units in 2022 and was making some plays early in training camp at Latrobe.
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Outside of their three starters in Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool and George Pickens, the rest of the Steelers wide receivers corps has combined for one catch.
Coach Mike Tomlin on Tuesday foreshadowed the decision about Austin, implying that he could use something of a redshirt-type season at the NFL level.
“This guy hasn’t played in a stadium yet,” Tomlin said, pointing out Austin’s lack of pro game experience. “He hasn’t played in a preseason stadium. So, it’s more about development for him, and that’s the perspective that I have.”
Safety Damontae Kazee and defensive lineman DeMarvin Leal are the lone Steelers players on IR who remain eligible to return this season. Kazee started to practice last week, signaling a return is imminent. Leal went on IR the day before the Oct. 16 win against the Tampa Bay Bucs; rules dictate a player must miss four games, so the earliest Leal could return is for the Nov. 20 home game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
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