Pittsburgh Steelers Steelers Injury Updates
Steelers WR Calvin Austin III Expects to Play vs. Browns
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III expects to play against the Cleveland Browns after suffering a concussion last week.
PITTSBURGH — Wide receiver Calvin Austin III is good to go for the Pittsburgh Steelers Week 14 rematch with the Cleveland Browns after suffering a concussion in the team’s 44-38 win against the Cincinnati Bengals last week.
The third-year wide receiver’s status has been up in the air all week, but he was able to log several practices while working his way through the concussion protocol and now expects to play on Sunday.
“I feel good. I feel great,” Austin said. “I just listened to the trainers and doctors and did what they said so I can be able to play this week.”
Austin took a couple of big blows by the Bengals defense a week ago. He was able to return to the game after the first hit, but the same couldn’t be said for the second.
The former fourth-round pick admits the first hit caught him off guard and led to his eventual exit from the contest.
“The first one probably was, for sure, because I was expecting him to like try to break up the ball or just put a hand up or something, but he took the shot,” Austin said. “So I wasn’t expecting the hit right then and there, but got back up, shook it off.”
Nonetheless, Austin not having to miss any time is great news for the Steelers. He has been playing some of his best football as of late, registering five catches for 107 yards and two touchdowns the past two weeks, one of which came against the Browns two weeks ago.
Austin is also the Steelers primary punt returner and has already taken one to the house this season.
The Steelers are hoping Austin can stay hot with a chance to get their revenge on the Browns, who won the first meeting 24-19. Austin knows that will be no easy task, though.
“Anytime we play the Browns it’s gonna be like that,” Austin said. “There’s not a lot of love between the two teams. You can feel it when you’re out there. Everybody is at their best, playing their hardest. So it really just comes down to trying to out-hustle, out-physical the other team because we both know about each other. There’s no secrets and stuff, so at the end of the day, it’s just about really man on man, beating your guy and making plays.”
Alan Saunders provided reporting from Pittsburgh.
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