Calvin

Austin

With fill-in QB Mason Rudolph checking it down left and right, Austin’s five short-area targets were third on the team behind DK Metcalf and Kenneth Gainwell. Austin has had plenty of 4-5 catch pop-up weeks, but he has exceeded 40 yards two times all season. Regardless of whether Aaron Rodgers (wrist) is back for Week 13 against the Bills, Austin hasn’t done enough to put himself on the WR4 map.

There’s not much to say here. After leading the Steelers with 5-56-0 on six targets in his previous game, Austin returned from the team’s bye week only to fade into irrelevance in Week 11. We’ve come to expect this kind of inconsistent play from Austin, who won’t be on the fantasy radar in Week 12 against the Bears.

With DK Metcalf locked down, Austin emerged to lead the Steelers in receiving. His six targets tied Darnell Washington for the team-high on the afternoon. Austin came up with two receptions on the Steelers’ third possession of the game that ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Jaylen Warren, and hauled in an 18-yard pass in the third quarter to set up another Warren score. His five receptions mark a new season-high, but Austin remains difficult to trust outside of deep fantasy leagues. He shouldn’t be viewed as anything more than a WR4 in Week 10 against the Chargers.

He practiced in full all three days this week. Austin profiles as a low-end FLEX play this week, but at least he managed to avoid a trip to IR and the Packers do invite defenses to throw on them. Something something Aaron Rodgers #RevengeGame.

Austin was officially listed as full today and his return to practice is a good sign overall. The Steelers’ diminutive wide receiver was taken to the hospital after injuring his shoulder in Week 4 against the Vikings and has not practiced since then. The Steelers (4-2) sit atop the AFC North, and face a talented Packers (4-1-1) team with playoff aspirations. Austin would enter the FLEX conversation if active.

Tomlin said Tuesday that he’s “optimistic” Austin can return to game action in Week 8 against the Packers after missing the past few weeks with a serious shoulder injury. Austin had been operating as the team’s WR2 behind DK Metcalf before the injury, seeing 17 targets over four games. Austin would barely be a deep league WR option if he’s able to suit up this week against Green Bay.

Austin remained sidelined all week by his shoulder injury, and the Steelers do not have an adequate replacement for the speedy receiver on the roster, once again solidifying a large target share for WR DK Metcalf. Fortunately, the Steelers will have S DeShon Elliott, who missed two practices this week due to a personal issue. The Steelers (4-1) sit atop the AFC North, with the Bengals (2-4) in the No. 2 spot, now led by veteran QB Joe Flacco, who joined his new team via trade just last week.

Austin has not yet returned to practice after injuring his shoulder in the Steelers’ Week 4 game against the Vikings. The team had a Week 5 bye and declined to put Austin on short-term injured reserve, which would have required him to sit out until Week 10. The Steelers face the Bengals on Thursday Night Football this week. The short week undoubtedly hurt Austin’s chances of returning in time. The Steelers also ruled out S Miles Killebrew (knee) and listed S DeShon Elliott (personal) and LB Malik Harrison (knee) as questionable. Elliott missed Weeks 3-4 with a knee injury.

Austin was a DNP all week leading up to Sunday’s contest against the Browns. With Week 7’s tilt against the Bengals coming on Thursday night, it could be too much to ask Austin to suit up in such a short window, but the Steelers’ injury report will bear out where things stand for the fourth-year receiver this week. Austin has caught 10 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns this season, and won’t be on the Week 7 fantasy radar even if he is active.

Austin was ruled out before the weekend. The only player who was questionable for the Steelers was Jalen Ramsey, who is officially active for this week after logging a full practice on Friday.