Coming into the 2025 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers stated their belief over and over again that Calvin Austin III was the WR2 behind DK Metcalf. Then, in Week 1 against the New York Jets, that played out well as Austin hauled in four passes for 70 yards and a touchdown.
In Week 2, though, that WR2 role struggled against a Seattle defense that wasn’t fooled by much, covered well, and took away much in the passing game. Austin had just one catch for 22 yards on four targets, which came in garbage time. He also made a big mistake in the red zone on a scramble drill, deflecting what should have been a touchdown to tight end Pat Freiermuth into the air, leading to an interception for Seattle.