Steelers wide receiver suffers devastating hit against Broncos

The Pittsburgh Steelers have seen some of the best offensive production in years against the Denver Broncos. But as the Denver defense locked in late in a comeback attempt, Justin Fields looked to make a splash play with a speedy young receiver that took him out of the game.

As Calvin Austin III streaked down the sideline with eyes on a deep pass from Fields, Austin went to the ground as the pass fell incomplete and found himself on the receiving end of a brutal helmet-to-helmet hit from Broncos defensive back P.J. Locke.

Locke was flagged for unnecessary roughness with a hit on a defenseless receiver.

Steelers suffer blow to wide receiver in Week 2

Austin was quickly taken into the blue medical tent for further evaluation. As of this writing, there have been no official reports on his injury, but it's safe to assume Austin will go through the NFL's concussion protocol based on the nature of the hit.

Though Austin did not return to the field, Mike Tomlin made no mention of him among the injuries sustained in the Steelers' Week 2 game against the Broncos.

Austin was having a fairly quiet game with just one catch for six yards and five punt returns for just 27 yards. However, his deep-threat ability was rightfully called upon to put Denver away in the moment.

The Steelers are already thin at wide receiver, though more from a talent perspective rather than health. Still, second-round pick Roman Wilson is still unavailable due to a training camp ankle injury. Wilson is trending to make his NFL debut in the next week or two.

Austin himself was a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He missed his entire rookie season due to injury and struggled to crack the depth chart in 2023 with just 17 catches for 180 yards and a score.

We'll continue to monitor Austin's status as more information becomes available.