Calvin Austin may be an honorary member of the George Pickens fan club, or he could be the most realistic man in all of Pittsburgh.
While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Austin made it clear that when it comes to Pickens and his time away with a hamstring injury, there is no way to replace him with another Steelers wide receiver: “It’s hard to say anybody is similar to GP.”
Austin continued to shift the focus and pressure away from one specific player stepping up to replace Pickens, placing emphasis on the coaching staff’s ability to utilize all of the Steelers’ wide receivers’ unique strengths: “Everybody in the receiver room has different skill sets—different strengths—and the coaching staff knows that. They know how to put us in the position to be able to show that.”
#Steelers WR Calvin Austin III on replacing WR George Pickens.
“It’s hard to say anybody is similar to G.P. … You can’t really emulate that from anyone. Like I said, it’s just gonna be coaches putting us in the best positions.” pic.twitter.com/CSRpg9utUP
— Aaron Becker (@Aaron_M_Becker) December 11, 2024
Austin hit the nail right on the head—it will take all wide receivers and coaches to overcome the loss of talent that Pickens brings to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
