Editor’s note: From now until the first practice of training camp at Saint Vincent College, the Trib will be running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, assessing each player’s outlook for the 2022 season. The breakdown will go through the roster in mostly-alphabetical order, two per day, between June 11 and July 25. Contract data courtesy spotrac.com.
WR CALVIN AUSTIN III
Experience: Rookie
Contract status: $831,085 cap hit in 2022, the first of a four-year rookie contract
2022 outlook: A highly-productive college player who ran one of the fastest times in the 40-yard dash at the combine (4.32 seconds), Austin is an intriguing rookie.
So, why did he last until the fourth round?
His measured height is 5-foot-8, and the Steelers list him at 162 pounds — a full 12 pounds fewer than anyone else on the roster. Until he proves otherwise, there will always be questions about whether a player of that size can thrive in the NFL.
At No. 138 overall and with the Steelers in need of an infusion of talent at receiver, Austin would seem worth the risk. Can he earn an immediate role in the offense? After the offseason departure of three of the Steelers’ top five receivers to free agency, the opportunity is there for Austin and/or second-round pick George Pickens to make a quick impact.
Calvin Austin III has used the slights he's received (his size) as inspiration. He became a two-time 1,000-yard receiver at Memphis, earned a trip to the Senior Bowl and NFL Combine and is now a #Steelers receiver.https://t.co/VNfnvv6kYu
— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) May 15, 2022
OLB GENARD AVERY
Experience: 5th season
Contract status: $1.05 million cap hit in 2022 on one-year free-agent deal signed in March
2022 outlook: Joining Austin and two others as Memphis alumni on the Steelers’ 90-man camp roster (tied with Alabama and trailing only the five from Michigan and Texas A&M for the most on the team), Avery joined the Steelers after making 12 starts for the Philadelphia Eagles last season. A fifth-round pick by the Cleveland Browns in 2018, Avery had a sack against the Steelers in his NFL debut in that season’s opener. But he was traded to the Eagles early during his second season.
Avery has been mostly a subpackage player since. For the Steelers, the hope is he can seize the top backup spot at outside linebacker behind Alex Highsmith and All Pro T.J. Watt. After the Melvin Ingram fiasco last season, the Steelers yearn for stability at that position and prefer to limit the snaps of Watt and Highsmith to keep them as fresh as possible.
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