Steelers WR Calvin Austin Closing in On Major Rehab Landmark
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers didn't get to see wide receiver Calvin Austin hit the field for a game during his rookie season, which has only ramped up the excitement level heading into year two.
Players like Kenny Pickett and Connor Heyward have both named Austin as one of the players fans must watch for in 2023, raising the bar for his NFL expectations as the 2022 rookie class enters their first offseason.
Austin's ready to hit the field again, but first, he needs to complete his rehab. After undergoing surgery on a lisfranc sprain on his foot in October, Austin began a long recovery process that he's still working through.
The former Memphis star and training camp standout spoke exclusively with All Steelers about where he is in the process and when he'll be ready to take the next step - plus, his plans to get up to speed with Kenny Pickett.
"I would say it's probably in that month and a half to two months range," Austin said on his timeline for recovery. "But you know, with this injury, though, it really depends on the person and how that person heals. Because it takes some bigger guys longer, just because of the type of injury it is. So with my progress, I've been feeling great. And honestly, I didn't think at this point already that I would be running on a treadmill and stuff like this. So I'm really excited, and just my spirits are high."
Austin is still in Pittsburgh and plans to remain there until the end of the month to work at their facilities and meet with the training staff. From there, he'll continue working on his own before some plans to meet up with Steelers teammates like Diontae Johnson, George Pickens and eventually Kenny Pickett.
"I'm at the point right now where the most important point is just strengthening my leg back up to get it back even with my other ones since I was off it for so long. So it's really about getting that strengthened back up and then I would say after that like one and a half, two months range is where I could you begin to if we go out and do some things, really be able to just kind of find my way in, slowly but surely get in there," Austin said. "So when we do start back at it as a team, it's not like my first time catching and running routes and stuff like that. So they'll definitely be times where I think I'll be able to do some routes and maybe some one-on-ones and stuff like that."
It's been a long rookie year for Austin, who was initially injured the day before the team's preseason opener. He's continued to work, though, and leaned on his new NFL teammates.
And in the Steelers locker room, they made sure to keep his spirits high as they await what 2023 has in store for the fourth-round pick.
"I will say that's one of the big positives and things I like most love about this organization is just the team itself," Austin said. "I think all the older guys, just really, all the guys kind of knew that I had big expectations for myself, and they saw what I could do during camp too. So we a team so they obviously wanted to see me get out there and play. But they all kind of knew that I'm young, and I really want to get out there and that this is probably gonna be hard because I am a rookie, you know, and I haven't even got a chance to play.
"So it's like, all the guys would, no matter who it was, would come and talk to me from Mitch [Trubisky] to Alex [Highsmith], Cam [Heyward], Kenny [Pickett], you know, everybody. That's what made it so much easier is that no matter, every week, guys are checking up on me, 'How much longer you in the boot?' 'How much longer you on the scooter?' 'How much longer you own crutches?' So it's like, even from the coaches too so it makes you feel very involved and that they truly care. And that's just what makes me want to work even harder to get the comeback."
Check out the full interview here, which includes Austin's recovery process, some laughs at Diontae Johnson's "drama," and why he believes the Steelers are on their way back to greatness.
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