Tavon Austin’s receiving numbers are embarrassing for Rams in 2017

Once again, Tavon Austin has been a bust for the most part in 2017 instead of making an impact for the Los Angeles Rams.

After Tavon Austin was still a member of the Los Angeles Rams following this year’s NFL trade deadline, Sean McVay made it clear that his intention was to figure out a way for the wideout to have an increased role moving forward. And even though he’s proven to be more of a threat in the ground game, embarrassing doesn’t even begin to describe the lack of production from Austin in the passing game, and at this point, it’s tough coming up with valid excuses for the former first-round pick.

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One of the main reasons why the Rams were so high on Austin back in 2014 was due to the fact that he was considered a duel threat thanks to his blazing speed. Not only was Austin effective on offense due to his ability to be used as a receiver or running back, but also he could be used on special teams. In fact, Austin being able to play all three positions is one of the main reasons why Los Angeles was willing to give him with an insane four-year, $42 million extension before the start of last season, a deal most football fans strongly believed he didn’t deserve when taking a closer look at his numbers.

So how exactly did everything turn out for Austin during his first season following the extension? Well, he did set a career high as a wideout, but everybody knows the 509 receiving yards he posted in 15 games wasn’t anything to brag about. And if that seems pathetic, just take a look at what Austin has put together through 11 games with the Rams in 2017, as he somehow found a way to hit a whole new low in the lack of production department.

Pathetic doesn’t even begin to describe how disappointing it is to see Austin with only 10 catches for just 42 yards heading into the team’s Week 13 meeting against the Arizona Cardinals when looking at all of the money he’s making from Los Angeles. And if that wasn’t embarrassing enough, Austin is coming off a three-catch game against the New Orleans Saints, and still found a way to end up with negative yardage (-1).

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Until Austin figures out a way to be more effective in the passing game, the frustration is only going to continue piling up for the Rams, even if they still have plenty of other talented receivers to work with. As bad as it sounds, an organization can only provide so many opportunities for certain players before realizing they’re a complete bust, and when it comes to Austin, that appears to be exactly the case.