Player: WR Calvin Austin III
Stock Value: Sold
Reasoning: With Calvin Austin III and Connor Heyward, the Steelers’ entire 2022 draft class is gone from the roster. Arguably, the only one who can make that case is George Pickens. Others are still around kicking, but not all. As for Austin, now he is with John Harbaugh, whom he helped get fired in January.
It was just a couple of weeks ago that Calvin Austin III scored the game-winning touchdown against John Harbaugh’s Ravens that kept Baltimore out of the playoffs. Soon after, Harbaugh lost his job. But he quickly landed on his feet, now head coach of the Giants.
While with the Ravens, Harbaugh wanted to draft Calvin Austin in 2022. Baltimore danced around too much, however, and the Steelers swooped in. But Pittsburgh seemingly declined to pursue him with any earnestness this offseason, and now he’s gone.
According to reports, Austin is signing a one-year contract with the Giants worth up to $4.5 million. That’s a decent little figure, but apparently $3 million is in the form of incentives. In other words, he has to earn his pay this year.
In four years with the Steelers, Calvin Austin caught 84 passes for 1,100 yards and 8 touchdowns. Last year, he caught 31 passes for 372 yards and 3 touchdowns. On top of that, Austin has 639 career punt returns with one touchdown and an 8.9-yard average. I suspect he’ll serve as a returner in New York as well.
The Steelers entered the 2025 season with Calvin Austin effectively a starter. He caught 4 passes for 70 yards and 1 touchdown in the opener, but that was his peak. He only topped 40 yards twice more that season, including in Week 18 against Harbaugh’s Ravens.
The Steelers lacked consistent quarterback play during Austin’s tenure—and offensive-coordinator efficiency as well. Unsurprisingly, he seemed to work best with Russell Wilson in 2024, who was always willing to chuck the ball downfield. Can he unlock something more in New York with Jaxson Dart?
With the 2025 season behind us and the new league year underway, we still have stock to take. Already promisinga year of change, they are shaking things up. That is unavoidable, of course, when you gut the coaching staff. Mike Tomlin’s resignation will fundamentally change this football team, including the players on the roster.
After a long season, we have finally seen that this Steelers team is playoff-bound. But they also showed that their progress was actually minimal,since they made it no further. Two years in a row, with two different quarterbacks, they went 10-7 and lost in the Wild Card Round. The only differences are that they ended the season on a higher note and won the division. But it didn’t help.
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