Tavon Austin is an American football player who plays both as a wide receiver and running back. His career started with great promise and expectations as he was a highly sort after player upon the completion of his outstanding college career as a two-time winner of the All-American honours.
St Louis Rams selected him during the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft with the 8th overall pick but his professional career has been hampered by injuries, as well as other off-field issues for a couple of seasons. However, at present, the Baltimore native seems to have put his demons behind him and set his best foot forward since he got signed by the Dallas Cowboys in 2018.
A Look At Tavon Austin’s Journey To The Big League From His High School Days
Tavon Austin was born on the 15th of March 1990 in Baltimore, Maryland, where he also had his high school education at Dunbar High School. During his time there, the young Tavon was a multi-sport athlete; he ran track and played football, as well as basketball. His talents became quite glaring in high school as he set several state records completing with a whopping 123 touchdowns, 7,962 rushing yards, and 9, 258 offensive yards in football.
Austin proceeded to have his college education at West Virginia University from 2009 to 2012. He had a stellar career in college, converting from running back to a wide receiver in the process. In his 4 years at West Virginia, he caught 288 passes for 3,413 yards and 29 touchdowns, also rushing for 1,033 yards and recording 6 touchdowns. Its also known that Tavon won the 2012 Orange Bowl in a 70-33 win against the Mountaineers, as well as being named the 2012 All-Purpose Performer of the Year by the College Football Performance Awards Association.
He Turned Pro In 2013
The Baltimore native was a first-round pick (8th overall) in the 2013 NFL Draft. Selected by the St. Louis Rams, he signed a four-year contract with the franchise. Austin played a total of 13 games in the 2013 season for the Rams, covering 418 receiving yards, 678 return yards, and 1 touchdown. In Week 10 of the season, Austin was recognized as NFC Special Teams Player of the Week, as well as NFC Special Teams Player of the Month during that period. Although his receiving yards dropped to 242 in the 2014 season, he continued to soar in other aspects as he recorded a career-high 391 punt returning yard which came in 3rd place for that NFL season.
Tavon Austin’s 2015 season proved to be the best of his seasons in the NFL as he made career highs, recording 52 receptions, 473 receiving yards and 5 receiving touchdowns. In a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Austin made 5 receiving touchdowns, 4 rushing touchdowns, and 1 punt return touchdown making him the second player to achieve such feat after former Chicago Bears player, Gale Sayers did so in 1965. The next season was pretty good for the player as he recorded yet another career-high of 509 receiving yards and 58 catches. However, he failed to record any punt touchdown which is the first time he has not done so since he turned pro. Tavon eventually succeeded to sign a contract extension with the Rams that would last for 4 years.
Austin Hit Rock Bottom In The 2017 NFL Season
Austin’s career statistics took a dip in 2017 as he recorded several career lows. Although the Rams were able to reach the playoff that season since 2004, Austin did not make any significant contribution to the achievement of that feat. As reported by Pro-Football-Reference, Tavon Austin’s stats were so bad that season that he made history in the NFL as the first wide receiver to catch at least 13 passes for less than 50 yards. The wide receiver reportedly caught 13 passes for 47 yards. The only wide receiver to have recorded such low stats was Greg DeLong who caught 13 passes for 52 yards in 1999.
More so, in the 16 games Tavon played, he recorded no receiving or returning touchdown in the season and had a low 4.4 returning average. He also made a low 4.6 average for 270 rushing yards and a 3.6 average for 47 receiving yards. It, therefore, did not come as a surprise when the Rams decided to cut short his stay with them during the off-season as plans were made for him to be traded off which will enable them to save as much as $3 million from his contract.
See Also: John Brown (NFL Wide Receiver) Biography, Family Life and Other Facts
Joining The Dallas Cowboys Revived His Career
In April 2018, Austin’s trade-off was finalized and he was set to join the Dallas Cowboys for the 2018 season. He recorded very impressive career stats in his first season with the Cowboys as he covered 140 receiving yards unlike the 47 receiving yards in the previous season. Although he ended up playing in only 7 games, missing 9 due to an injury, Tavon made 2 receiving touchdowns and went on to make a 17.5 receiving average, 9.2 rushing average alongside 5.8 returning average which was better than his last performance.
The player continued to upgrade his performance in the recently concluded season in which he appeared in 12 games. He made both a receiving and returning touchdown, as well as covering 171 receiving yards and 78 returning yards. Tavon even caught a pass in a game against his former team, the St.Louis Rams which ended in a 42-21 victory for his team.
How Rich Is Tavon Austin?
Tavon Austin signed his first deal in the NFL with the Rams back in 2013 and it’s reported that his 4-year rookie contract was worth $12.751 million with a signing bonus of $7.653 million. In 2016, it was announced that his deal with the Rams will be extended to cover another 4 years and the contract was worth $42 million. CBS spots reported at the time that Tavon might get up to $52 million if everything goes well for the player.
With regards to the Dallas Cowboys deal, Tavon initially got a 1-year, deal in 2018 which had a $5 million guarantee and a $3 million incentive. The next year, he was able to secure another 1-year contract which had a $500,000 guarantee and his annual salary was pegged at $1,750,000. As of now, although his actual net worth is yet to be announced, Tavon is estimated to have more than $1 million to his name.
