THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — When the Los Angeles Rams traded for Sammy Watkins, it meant a significantly reduced role for Tavon Austin, the fifth-year receiver who signed a four-year, $42 million contract less than a year earlier.
Austin saw it as “competition.”
“Brotherly competition,” Austin said Monday. “That’s how it is. And I haven’t been here. Since the new coaches got here, I’ve only had four days in this offense. So I understand. It definitely don’t mean that they don’t still have plans for me. That’s where I’m at with it right now. I’m going to take it day after day, and wherever I land [within the offense], I know myself. I know what I’m capable of, and I know the things I can do on the field will definitely help this team.”
Austin spent the spring recovering from wrist surgery and didn’t participate in the Rams’ offseason program. He was unrestricted by training camp, but then he injured his hamstring during the fourth practice and didn’t return to the field with his teammates until Monday, 13 days before the regular-season opener. Austin only went through individual drills, but Rams coach Sean McVay said he might have been able to participate in the full practice if the team wasn’t being so cautious.
McVay said Sunday that Austin has made “huge progress” in his return from a hamstring injury and that he expects him to be available — and a part of the offense — for the Sept. 10 game against the Indianapolis Colts.
How the Rams actually use Austin remains to be seen.
“I definitely don’t feel no type of way to nobody,” Austin said of the Watkins acquisition. “To be honest, I look at the good side. A couple years I’ve been here, we’ve only had two or three guys that they were looking at. Now, they have to defend the whole field. It’s a long season, it’s a tough game, and that’s how I look at it. If it’s my time in the beginning, it’s my time in the beginning. If it’s at the end, it’s at the end. I’m definitely being patient. I know what this sport brings. Next man up. And that’s how it go. But I definitely will not quit, ever. That’s what it is with me.”
The Rams went into the year hopeful that Austin could establish himself as a vertical threat along the outside, even though he is only 5-foot-8 and has never proven to be somebody who can consistently beat teams down the field. Watkins, acquired from the Bills in exchange for cornerback E.J. Gaines and a second-round pick, fills that void. The No. 2 receiver is Robert Woods, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract during free agency. And the slot receiver is Cooper Kupp, a third-round pick who immediately impressed the coaching staff.
Under Jeff Fisher, Austin returned punts and was used as something of a gadget receiver, catching a lot of passes behind the line of scrimmage and also running the ball out of the backfield. McVay may use Austin similarly, though now he would be fourth on the receiver depth chart. The Rams also have two very promising young players in Josh Reynolds, a vertical threat, and Pharoh Cooper, who profiles mainly out of the slot.
Austin called this “the best receiving group I’ve been around.”
“We have a lot of different combinations, a lot of different guys,” Watkins said. “We have big guys, small guys, speed, quick.”
Austin, drafted eighth overall four years ago, falls into that “quick” category. The 26-year-old gained a career-high 907 yards from scrimmage in 2015. But that number dipped to 668 yards last season, which actually represented his second-highest output in four years. Austin has also returned three punts for touchdowns, but there’s no certainty that he will continue to do that with this staff.
One potential role could be to catch passes out of the backfield. The Rams signed running back Lance Dunbar largely for that purpose, hoping he could play a role similar to the one Chris Thompson played for McVay’s Redskins last season. But Dunbar has been unable to practice because of a pre-existing knee injury. Austin has taken 89 snaps out of the backfield since his rookie year in 2013, second-most among wide receivers during that time.
“That’s where my love’s at,” Austin said. “That’s where I’ve been at my whole life. I haven’t been in the offense yet, so I don’t know what the plans are for me. Just gotta be ready. When the ball gets in my hands, do what I do.”