Bills Roster: Making Sense of the Tavon Austin Signing
At his best, Tavon Austin was Pac Man on the final maze, able to change directions as a receiver, ballcarrier and returner as if controlled by a joystick in the fingers of an expert gamer who never loses.
That was some time ago, however.
The 5-foot-8 wide receiver is 32 now and has caught just 63 passes for 597 yards (9.5 yards per reception average) in 54 games over the previous five seasons. Once a feared force in the running game as well, he carried 184 times for 1,238 yards through his first five seasons.
Nevertheless, the Buffalo Bills have added him to their roster on a one-year contract with the thought that, if he has anything left in the tank, he can help get them their first Super Bowl victory.
The Bills actually passed on a chance to draft Austin in the first round in 2013, trading the No. 8 overall pick to the St. Louis Rams to move down to 16, where they took quarterback E.J. Manuel.
Austin went on to have some highly productive seasons with the Rams, with career highs of 58 catches in 2016 and 59 runs in 2017. He also was their primary punt returner and took one back for a touchdown in each of his first three seasons.
But Austin's career took a severe downturn after leaving the Rams in 2018. He's played for three teams since, accumulating just 65 total touches on offense in that span.
Last year with the Jacksonville Jaguars, he did have a bit of a resurgence, catching 24 passes for 213 yards and a TD.
Needless to say, Austin's spot on the 53-man roster is far from assured following the additions of free agent Jamison Crowder and draft pick Khalil Shakir to go with Stefon Diggs, Gabriel Davis, Isaiah McKenzie and a bunch of others.
One of the most spetacular college players of his generation, Austin now is in a position in which he will have to prove himself worthy to take touches or spots on the game-day active roster away from the other Bills' receivers, all of whom are younger than him.
The Bills and new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey likely envision Austin as a chess piece they can move around in multiple formations and be as much of a factor in the running game as the passing game, if not more.
His addition adds another layer of intrigue to training camp, to be sure.
BOOKMARK OUR SITE: For more Bills news and features, visit SI.com's Fan Nation regularly.
Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.
