Steelers Vs. Ravens: Rookie Holds Grudge … Against a Punter?!

Calvin Austin III despised the Baltimore Ravens from the second he entered the National Football League, even before he donned the one-sticker helmet of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Austin, set to take the field for the Steelers after missing his rookie year with a foot injury, explained his unique grudge to Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as he prepares to make his professional debut. One way or another, the Memphis alum was perhaps destined to take part in the long-standing AFC North rivalry: as the 138th pick of the 2022 draft, he was one pick away from going to the Ravens at 139 (where they chose Isaish Likely).

But Austin is more concerned about the Ravens' original missed opportunity to pick him up eight picks prior. The big qualm Austin has with the Ravens is that they chose to take punter Jordan Stout with the 130th choice instead.

"I’d be lying if I said I haven’t been thinking about that,” Austin admitted. “It’s wild. It’s one of those things where you know, obviously, I’m blessed and I’m just so 100 percent glad that I came here. (But) I’d be lying if I said that hasn’t been on my mind since the draft, since that came out. …

“It’s personal. But that will all be settled out, lord willing, this year and the times we see them. I just have it circled. Crazy. A punter, huh?”

Stout, a Penn State alum taking over for 16-year leg Sam Koch, was the first of four punters chosen in the 2022 draft. The 26 punts he landed inside the opponents' 20 were tied for the seventh-best in the league in his freshman season.

Austin is expected to be a multi-faceted threat for the Steelers this season, one that can line up and contribute in several areas on the field. Pittsburgh's offense is in the midst of an intriguing point on its franchise timeline, as the team hopes promising passing prospect Kenny Pickett will take a leap in his sophomore season. Austin is expected to be one of the weapons to help him acclimate to the game alongside Pickett's fellow sophomore George Pickens and acquired veteran Allen Robinson.

Don't expect Austin to forget the dates of the Steelers' yearly pair against the Ravens, the first of which is scheduled to be staged in Pittsburgh on Oct. 8.

“Trust me ... I’ve thought all about that.”

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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