Tavon Austin Struggles For Los Angeles Rams Against San Francisco 49ers

Tavon Austin failed to live up to his hefty contract after struggling in Week 1 for the Los Angeles Rams.

With the ink still drying on his four-year, $42 million contract signed back in August, Tavon Austin and the Los Angeles Rams made their way to Santa Clara to face off against the San Francisco 49ers for a Week 1 opener on Monday Night. Having signed a deal that awards him more guaranteed money than the likes of top pass catchers like Alshon Jeffery, Doug Baldwin, and T.Y. Hilton, there was certainly a reason to have high expectations for Austin to produce against the 49ers.

With their eyes set north and their heart set on victory, Austin, and the rest of the Rams had about a rough as a night as can be in the NFL. Once again, Austin was plagued by his familiar woes of mental miscues and unreliable hands.

From the get go on the very first drive, Austin had two targets which both resulted in incompletions, one of which was a dropped pass that should havee been a clear catch. In addition to his catching inconsistencies, Austin also showed signs of his lack of field awareness that have cursed him in the past when he again decided to call for a fair catch after a 49ers punt in the first.

Nothing unusual about that, except for the fair catch was called at the Rams nine-yard line without a potential tackler for about 30 yards.

Jan 3, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; St. Louis Rams wide receiver Tavon Austin (11) is restrained by offensive tackle Rob Havenstein (79) after a play against the San Francisco 49ers in overtime at Levi

Aside from his own issues, the Rams did everything they could to get Austin involved on offense by targeting him 12 times, resulting in a meager four catches for 13 yards all night. Even if he didn’t exactly have a high-caliber quarterback in Case Keenum under center to provide him with the best passes to snag, or the most creative play caller to utilize his strengths, these numbers are inexcusable for the wideout.

Austin continues to be used as what could only be interpreted as the most expensive decoy in the NFL. It’s a mystery as to why after four years with the team, under the same coaching, Austin continues to be used as a bubble-screen receiver rather having his blazing speed utilized in running longer routes in hopes that he will be able to hold on to longer passes.

Unless the coaching staff figures out how to employ Austin’s skill, it’s tough to see anything unlike what happened against the 49ers over the rest of the season.