Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III’s injury has made the development of chemistry and rapport with new quarterback Aaron Rodgers a bit difficult. Though Austin had a throwing session with Rodgers in Malibu this summer, and raved about him during minicamp and early in training camp, Austin hasn’t practiced fully since Aug. 1.
It’s made things a bit challenging for him to get up to speed with Rodgers and solidify that connection.
Rodgers, who spoke to reporters ahead of practice Tuesday on the South Side, is trying to do what he can to keep things steady with Austin. That includes speaking with him as much as he can, making sure the lines of communication are strong.
He even threw some passes to him during a walkthrough, too, keeping the connection up with his speedy young receiver.
“Yeah, I’ve talked to him. He only sits a couple [lockers] over from me. So just keeping the conversation, keep communicating with him,” Rodgers said of Austin, according to video via the Tribune-Review’s Chris Adamski on X. “Nobody’s more upset about not being out there than him, so just trying to keep it positive as well. It’s hard to be hurt anytime of the year. Camp, with a new quarterback and kind of build off the year end last year, I’m sure there’s some frustration. But he hasn’t shown it.
“He’s one of the happiest guys, my favorite guys in the locker room, so we’re happy to get him back. He was out there at walkthrough today, so I threw him a couple balls, made sure that oblique was feeling good.”
Aaron Rodgers calls Calvin Austin III “one of the happiest guys in the locker room and one of my favorite guys in the room”.
He ain’t wrong pic.twitter.com/X6B2AONCDI
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) August 19, 2025
Just like that, Rodgers let slip what has been bothering Austin. The fourth-year receiver was hurt on Aug. 1 in training camp and hasn’t practiced since then with what was an undisclosed injury. Multiple times, head coach Mike Tomlin stated that Austin was close to returning and would “perk up” soon. But there were never any specifics into what he was dealing with.
In recent days it has come out that he had an abdominal issue, and now Rodgers is saying it’s an oblique.
Those can be very frustrating to deal with. It’s kept Austin off the field, and he’s had a hard time dealing with it.
But he has his quarterback in his corner. There was obvious chemistry between the two early at training camp as Austin made a number of plays out of the slot with Rodgers at quarterback. Obviously it didn’t continue due to his absence, but there’s a lot of respect for Austin from Rodgers, and vice versa.
The time Austin has missed might hinder his ability to truly get up to speed early in the season, but Rodgers doesn’t sound all that worried. And he is doing what he can to keep communicating with the young receiver, making sure their relationship remains strong off the field.
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