Giants WR Calvin Austin Out For The Year With Torn ACL

Giants WR Calvin Austin III has torn his ACL and will miss the upcoming NFL season. The injury took place during practice on Tuesday and happened while running a route.

Austin, who has spent his entire career so far with the Pittsburgh Steelers, just recently signed with the Giants this offseason. The 27-year-old has averaged around 300 receiving yards per season in the NFL and three touchdowns in his young career.

The one-on-one drill that led to the injury was contested by Deonte Banks. Reports say the entire place went quiet, as Austin seemed to know right away what had happened.

So what does this mean for the Giants’ receiver room now? The Giants do have a few big names at the receiver position, and with Austin out, these names could become more dependent upon this season.

Star WR Malik Nabers has been in a non-contact jersey since his return from his week four torn ACL last season and then faced a setback this summer, needing another surgery to remove scar tissue. Coach John Harbaugh has said that he hopes Nabers could be out of his non-contact jersey at some point this week, but with the season fast approaching, Nabers will have been out of the system for quite a long time.

Other big names such as Braxton Berrios and veteran Odell Beckham Jr. were taking snaps in training camp as well on the second-team offense. Beckham, now entering his 13th season at the age of 33, has two receptions this preseason. Beckham shut down retirement rumors throughout a majority of last year, even though he did not play.

The Giants have plenty of other talent at receiver, such as Darius Slayton and Darnell Mooney, but with the exit of Austin, that could pave the way for Beckham Jr. to get the call again in New York. Beckham last played for the Giants in 2018 and was one of the league’s best receivers then.