The New York Giants are dealing with what appears to be a critical loss to their offense just before they close out their preseason schedule.
“Giants WR Calvin Austin was carted off today from practice with what one source described as a ‘serious knee injury,'” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on his official X account on Tuesday.
Austin signed a 1-year, $1.5 million free-agent contract with the Giants this offseason and was 1 of the team’s projected starting wide receivers alongside Pro Bowler Malik Nabers and Darius Slayton.
“WR Calvin Austin crumbled to the ground in 1-on-1 drills while running a route and immediately grabbed his right knee,” ESPN’s Jordan Raanan wrote on his official X account on Tuesday. “Not good. Carted off. Team huddled around him. Owner John Mara even went over to console the free-agent acquisition. Didn’t look promising for Austin.”
“Brutal scene at Giants practice: WR Calvin Austin went down while running a route in 1-on-1’s,” The Athletic’s Dan Duggan wrote on his official X account. “It appeared to be his right knee. I didn’t see what happened, but the reaction from teammates was telling. All of the WRs and DBs couldn’t even look as trainers attended to Austin. The rest of the team was at the other end of the field doing a 9-on-7 drill. The whole team came down to wish Austin well before he was carted off. The WRs and DBs did a lengthy prayer circle until practice resumed. Sometimes things don’t turn out as bad as the initial reactions, but this one definitely looked very bad.”
Calvin Austin Carved Out Unique Role With Steelers
Austin, 5-foot-9 and 162 pounds, was a 4th-round pick (No. 108 overall) by the Pittsburgh Steelers out of Memphis in the 2022 NFL Draft after earning consecutive All-AAC honors in 2020 and 2021.
One thing Austin has done well in both college and the pros is fill up a stat sheet. He had consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons and 19 total receiving touchdowns over his final 2 years at Memphis.
After running the 40-yard dash in a blazing 4.32 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine, he’s averaged over 600 all-purpose yards per season over his 1st 4 seasons with the Steelers.
The real dagger for Austin is that his contract with the Giants was a huge “Bet On Me” moment in his career — it could have been worth up to $4.5 million with incentives for playing time, receptions, and receiving yards.
Calvin Austin’s Injury Opens Up Roster Spot
Austin’s injury opens up a roster spot at wide receiver for the Giants — 1 likely to be filled by either Odell Beckham Jr. or Braxton Berrios.
“NFL is a cold world, but life goes on,” Duggan wrote on X. “The same day that a Calvin Austin injury may have cleared a path to a roster spot for Odell, he had his most productive day of camp, started off with a vintage one-handed grab in indy drills. Odell caught two passes from Jaxson Dart and two more from Jameis Winston in team periods. Looked like he had an extra gear today.”
Projected Giants Starter Suffers Serious Knee Injury: Report