The Seattle Seahawks made a pretty notable move earlier this week, as they hosted one of Geno Smith’s former college teammates for a workout. Tavon Austin, who played with the Seahawks quarterback at West Virginia University from 2009-12, was in town on a free agent visit.
NFL insider Aaron Wilson was the first to report the news.
#Seahawks worked out Tavon Austin, Anthony Brown (quarterback), Darrell Henderson, J.J. Taylor and Cody White
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) September 26, 2023
Austin, one of the most prolific college football players of the last two decades, was a human highlight reel in his days in Morgantown. He was Smith’s go-to wide receiver, along with Stedman Bailey. Both Austin and Bailey were drafted by the St. Louis (now Los Angeles) Rams in the 2013 NFL Draft, while Smith was a second-round choice of the New York Jets.
Austin last played in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021, in which he hauled in 24 receptions for 213 yards with one touchdown reception in 13 games (three starts). Austin signed with the Bills last June, he was released and later re-signed to the team’s practice squad, before Buffalo officially granted him his release last October.
Behind the likes of DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the Seahawks aren’t relatively deep at the wide receiver position, as only Jake Bobo and Cody Thompson are on the team’s depth chart.
Smith-Njigba has struggled thus far, and Austin could provide Seattle with some depth in the slot, at the very least. Austin is also a very good special teams player, who could provide the Seahawks with a different look at returner other than DeeJay Dallas.
Austin remains unsigned by the Seahawks at the writing of this article, so it remains to be seen if Seattle ends up making a move for him. In any event, it holds some relative significance when considering his past history with Smith.