Steelers Place WR Calvin Austin III on Injured Reserve

The Steelers have placed wide receiver Calvin Austin III on injured reserve with his foot injury, the team announced on Thursday.

Austin suffered the injury on the Friday before the Steelers’ first preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks. The injury reportedly is a lisfranc injury, and Austin is still working through it. He was initially in a walking boot but over the last few weeks, has taken steps to get back onto the field.

Still, with this news, Austin will miss at least the first four games of the season. Each NFL team can activate a maximum of eight players from the injured reserve list over the course of a season. Austin figures to be one for the Steelers players, as it appeared he was ramping up for a return prior to him being placed on injured reserve.

With Calvin Austin out for the foreseeable future, it gives more opportunities to Steven Sims and Miles Boykin. After his injury, it was Sims who was seen getting many of the manufactured screens and jet sweeps that were designed for Austin early on in training camp.

The Steelers will lean upon those players, but they lack the dynamic, game-changing speed that Austin brings to the table right away out of the gate. In order to replace some of that speed, the Steelers will need to use players like Chase Claypool and Diontae Johnson well to draw attention away from their other pass catchers.