Jaxson Dart is getting another weapon in the New York Giants‘ passing game.
Wide receiver Calvin Austin III is signing with Big Blue on a one-year deal worth up to $4.5 million, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
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The former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver joins a Giants receiving corps that was in need of extra depth behind third-year wideout Malik Nabers.
Wan’Dale Robinson, who stepped into New York’s lead receiver role after Nabers’ season-ending ACL tear in Week 4, signed with the Tennessee Titans in free agency. The move reunited him with ex-Giants head coach Brian Daboll and left New York with a roster hole behind Nabers.
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Austin’s signing is the third move the Giants have made for a pass-catcher this offseason. On March 9, New York agreed to terms with former Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely on a three-year deal. Hours later, the Giants also re-signed wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins on a one-year contract.
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In 2025, Austin was third on the Steelers with 55 targets, catching 31 of them for 372 yards and three touchdowns.
Calvin Austin contract details
Here’s a breakdown of Austin’s contract with the Giants by the numbers:
Contract total value: Worth up to $4.5 million
Average annual value (AAV): $4.5 million
Calvin Austin stats
Austin missed his entire rookie season with a foot injury, but he played in 48 games for the Steelers over the following three years. Here’s how his numbers look from his time in Pittsburgh:
Yards per reception: 13.1
Rushing stats: 11 attempts for 57 yards and one touchdown (all in 2023)
How Calvin Austin fits with the Giants
As of the late stages of the first wave of NFL free agency, Austin projects as an immediate replacement for Robinson in the Giants’ receiving corps.
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Like Robinson did in 2025, Austin split time between the slot and lined up outside in his last year with the Steelers. His best year of production in Pittsburgh was 2024, when a career-high 62.6 percent of his snaps were out of the slot, per Pro Football Focus. The former Steelers wideout caught 37 passes for 573 yards and four touchdowns, all career highs, during the 2024 season.
Austin’s yards after catch totals were all smaller than Robinson’s over the first three years of his career, but his average depth of target was also consistently deeper in all three seasons. Given his speed and quick-release ability, there likely is room for more YAC opportunities with his second team.
The former Steelers receiver also served as their primary return man on punts. Austin could compete with Giants incumbent Gunner Olszewski to fill that same role for the Giants – three years after he took over Olszewski’s punt returner job with the Steelers in 2023.
Austin has never had the high volume of targets that Robinson has had. With Darius Slayton returning, Nabers coming back from injury and Likely added to the roster, the former Steelers wideout won’t be expected to fully replicate Robinson’s output in New York.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Calvin Austin contract: Giants, WR agree to one-year deal