Rams trade Tavon to Dallas

Joe Curley@vcsjoecurley
Les Snead opens his post-draft presser addressing Tavon Austin: “One of my favorite human beings on the planet. One of the most competitive, mentally tough…Can’t say enough about that human being.” @DowntownRams @CVRamsClub

Snead says teams were checking on Austin through the offseason. “Somewhere in the draft today, I got a text and a call from Stephen Jones… Thought it was best for the team and for Tavon.”

Snead on Austin: “He was a weapon for us on special teams and on offense the year before the contract. He was just a unique weapon for us… Us going through a lot of QB changes probably hindered his progress… The guy had a productive career for us.”

Snead said the Rams “moved on” from Austin when he was injured last year.

Alden Gonzalez@Alden_Gonzalez
Told trading Tavon Austin to the Cowboys will clear $1M in salary cap space for 2018. Most of his salary was tied up in dead money, which the Rams still absorb.

Rams GM Les Snead called Tavon Austin “one of my favorite human beings on the planet” and “one of the most competitive, mentally tough. Glad I was a part of his life.” “Last year, unfortunately, when Sean got here, had the wrist injury and couldn’t get on the field, fell behind. Unfortunately for him, we kind of moved on in terms of adding people to the roster. So we did feel like Tavon deserved a chance to go try to be Tavon. But I can’t say enough about that human being.”

Former Rams WR Tavon Austin on joining the Cowboys, per ESPN’s Todd Archer: “Lot of weight off my shoulders, him (Jerry Jones) speaking to me that I get to come play for America’s best team. It had always been a dream.”

More Tavon Austin: “I definitely didn’t see this coming at all, but it’s the business side of football and the NFL. I’m definitely appreciative of my opportunities that I have, and I’m just glad it’s the Dallas Cowboys.”

Cowboys will use Tavon Austin in Lance Dunbar’s former role

Cowboys will use Tavon Austin in Lance Dunbar’s former role

The Cowboys didn’t trade for Tavon Austin the receiver. They traded for Tavon Austin the web back.

The Cowboys plan to use Austin the way they used Lance Dunbar.

Dunbar had 94 rushes for 422 yards and a touchdown and caught 68 passes for 646 yards in 54 games with the Cowboys when he wasn’t injured.

“We’re talking about a web back here that is supersized in terms of how explosive he can be,” Stephen Jones said. “We intend to use him just as we’ve used Dunbar in the past. We feel like with Zeke [Ezekiel Elliott] and Rod [Smith] that they fill their roles, and that Tavon can really do some special things for us in addition as well as being a nice threat in the return game.”

The Rams called the Cowboys on Thursday about a possible third-day trade for Austin. The Cowboys did their homework and came to the conclusion that Austin could add “juice” to their offense.

Dallas hopes to get Austin around 12 touches a game, Jones said.

“Obviously, he’s a really talented guy,’ Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “He was the eighth player taken in the draft in 2013. Dynamic college football player. One of the issues for him has been his size and how you use him in the NFL. We probably see him as a guy who can be versatile for us. Stephen reference a web back, kind of a dynamic mismatch, running back out of the backfield. Obviously, he played slot. He’s a returner. And so what you try to do is you try to get the ball in his hands a number of different ways. When we played the Rams this year, they lined him up as a running back. They tried to hand it to him, to throw it to him throughout the year, and that’s what people have tried to do throughout his career. He’s certainly a dynamic guy, and we just felt like for the value he could come into our football team and help us, and add some explosiveness to our offense.”

The Rams never got enough out of Tavon Austin

Alden Gonzalez

http://www.espn.com/blog/los-angeles-rams/post/_/id/38451/the-rams-never-got-enough-out-of-tavon-austin

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Les Snead had just wrapped up his seventh draft as general manager for the Los Angeles Rams, but he began by talking about a high-priced veteran who no longer played for him. The subject was Tavon Austin, the diminutive speedster who was sent to the Dallas Cowboys for what at that point represented the Rams’ seventh sixth-round pick.

Snead, seated alongside head coach Sean McVay, opened his Saturday news conference by calling Austin “one of my favorite human beings on the planet,” a compliment he wouldn’t just throw around. He praised his competitiveness, his mental toughness, his unselfishness in the midst of a significantly limited role. And in the end, Snead said, “Tavon deserved a chance to go try to be Tavon.”

The underlying belief is that Austin never really got that chance with the Rams, at least not to the extent the organization and its fans would have hoped.

The Rams traded up eight spots to select Austin eighth overall out of West Virginia in 2013. He measured only 5-foot-8, but was nonetheless considered the best wide receiver in his draft class; an all-purpose threat who matched gaudy statistics with an eye-popping 4.34-second 40-yard dash at that year’s scouting combine.

Since then, however, 90 players have amassed more scrimmage yards. Disregard last season, when he was left without a role in McVay’s offense, and Austin still ranked only 86th in scrimmage yards from 2013 to 2016.

But Snead doesn’t consider Austin’s stint with the Rams an all-out failure. Asked why it didn’t seem to work out, Snead began by pointing out that “Tavon led our team in touchdowns the year before we signed him to the contract.”

The year was 2015, the last one for the Rams in St. Louis. Austin finished it with 907 scrimmage yards, his highest in a single season by a wide margin. He actually tied Todd Gurley for the team lead with 10 touchdowns (five of them as a receiver, four as a runner and one as a punt returner). Weeks before the start of the following season, the Rams signed Austin to a four-year, $42 million extension that quickly became the subject of ridicule.

“It was never necessarily to be, hey, a No. 1 receiver,” Snead said. “But he was a weapon for us on special teams and in the offense. He led our team in touchdowns, and he had a lot of special-teams touchdowns called back. He was just a unique weapon on offense.”

The Rams never truly maximized that weapon, and whether the fault lies in the staff or in the player is impossible to truly know. In four years under Jeff Fisher, the Rams had Austin return punts and did their best to duplicate getting the ball to him in space elsewhere, using him largely on screens, jet sweeps and quick slants. From 2013 to 2016, Austin averaged a whopping 7.7 yards per carry, but he only ran the ball 125 times. As a receiver, he hauled in 60.1 percent of his targets, ranked 120th among 166 players during that four-year stretch.

“I do think us going through a lot of QB changes, even coordinators, probably hindered his progress,” Snead said. “Because any time you’re a shorter receiver — if you were with the same QB for a while, you get used to passing the ball to that person.”

Tavon Austin, who never maximized his potential with the Rams, received high praise from GM Les Snead for his competitiveness, mental toughness and unselfishness. Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Fisher answered a similar question about Austin shortly after the Rams drafted him. He talked about how his quarterback at the time, Sam Bradford, stood 6-foot-4 and therefore wouldn’t have much trouble finding him. But Bradford was just one of eight quarterbacks the Rams used during Austin’s first four seasons, to go along with three different offensive coordinators.

In 2016, the Rams finished last in the NFL in every major offensive category and Austin was one of many whose numbers suffered through it.

In 2017, Austin finished with 317 scrimmage yards in a role that no longer included punt returns and really only involved duties as a backfield decoy.

McVay called Austin to break the news to him that he had been traded. Austin initially went silent, took a moment to take it in, then decided he would be “in a better place.” In a conference call with Cowboys reporters, Austin added that the trade would take “a lot of weight off my shoulders,” perhaps a reference to the massive extension that ultimately became a burden.

“I gave my blood, sweat and tears over here — the St. Louis Rams, then coming to the L.A. Rams,” Austin said. “Unfortunate how it ended for me last year, me being hurt, me not playing — not playing at all, to be honest — it kind of hurt me as a player because I know the competitor I am. But I’m not the type to throw anybody under the bus and cry about it. I took it on the chin, kept my mouth closed, kept working through everything. I can honestly say I’m a better man today.”

Austin was hardly able to get on the field for McVay, in any setting. While his teammates grew familiar with a new offense during the offseason program, Austin worked out on the side by himself, rehabbing a wrist still tender from surgery. He returned to full activities in training camp, then popped his hamstring in the first week and was sidelined for most of the summer.

By the middle of August, the Rams had traded for Sammy Watkins, moving Austin way down on their receiver depth chart. Austin then muffed a handful of early-season punts — caused, perhaps, by a wrist that hadn’t fully healed — and Pharoh Cooper replaced him while on his way to the Pro Bowl.

Austin spent most of his on-field time providing the threat of a jet sweep to open holes for Gurley. But that role steadily diminished, as well. The Rams restructured his contract, largely out of desperation after Watkins departed as a free agent. But then they traded for Brandin Cooks, and Austin’s presence once again became unnecessary.

“I hit rock bottom,” Austin said, referencing the 2017 season. “It’s only the way up now.”

By trading Austin, the Rams saved $1 million, just enough to sign their new draft picks — but Snead will appreciate much more than that.

“The guy led our team in touchdowns and was a threat to go the distance, so, he did have a productive career with us,” Snead said. “It would’ve been interesting to see if he would’ve been healthy last year, how it turned out. But it didn’t, and this is where we are today.”

Why the unpredictability of Tavon Austin will be one of the Cowboys’ greatest offensive strengths this season

https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/dallas-cowboys/cowboys/2018/06/22/tavon-austinsunpredictability-will-one-cowboys-greatest-offensive-strengths-season

The Cowboys are banking on unpredictability being one of their greatest offensive strengths this fall. While watching four weeks of organized team activities and minicamp practices, no player’s workload was more difficult to project than Tavon Austin’s.

The 5-8, 179-pound former top 10 draft pick did individual drills with the receivers and caught punts on special teams, however, he’s listed on the roster with the running backs.

The coaching staff was careful about how much they featured him during team drills when cameras were around. But the expectation is that he’s going to get the ball in a myriad of ways.
“The coaches have a great plan,” quarterback Dak Prescott said. “He’s a guy that if we get the ball in his hands, he’ll score some points and get a bunch of yards in this offense.”
Although it wasn’t easy to stop Jason Witten or Dez Bryant, opponents had years of game film to study their tendencies.
With both stars gone, Prescott and his new group of receivers are hoping to keep defenses guessing by spreading the ball around. It’s a significant element in making the offense more “Dak-friendly.” No one knows who his go-to guys will be in big moments.
Offensive coordinator Scott Linehan has mixed in similar players like Lance Dunbar, Ryan Switzer and Lucky Whitehead in both the running and passing game near the line of scrimmage, but Austin’s involvement is expected to be much greater.

That’s why they pulled the trigger on trading a sixth round pick for him during the final day of the draft in April.
“That was a steal we got,” Prescott said. “That’s a great guy and a great teammate, a great football player. What he brings to this team, his personality in the locker room, off the field, hanging with guys, and then what he’s done on the field and what he’s going to do for us on the field will speak for itself.
“I’m glad we got him.”

Despite limiting his usage when reporters were in attendance, Austin had one of the top highlights of minicamp team drills, catching a deep ball from Prescott on a pump route.
“I saw burst, I saw a detailed route runner and he tracked the ball over his outside shoulder,” new wide receiver coach Sanjay Lal said of the play that caught his eye. “We’ve had limited exposure but he has shown some really unique traits.”
So why would the Los Angeles Rams be willing to part ways less than two years after giving Austin a four-year, $42 million extension?

The biggest knock on the 28-year-old is that he’s had trouble taking care of the ball. In five seasons, Austin has fumbled 21 times, most of any non-quarterback during that stretch. He recovered 10 of them.
The Cowboys have shown no concerns about his ball security issues, but his touches will likely be reduced if the problem continues.

Right now, they’re focusing on the positives. Austin’s play-making ability, experience and leadership.
“He has a great sense of humor, so he makes it fun to go in that receiver room,” Lal said. “He’s vocal. He will become one of the leaders, I predict, on this team once he gets comfortable.”
Prescott and Austin are finalizing dates next month to work out together before they head off to training camp.
“He wants to make sure that I can throw him the ball with my eyes closed and he knows where it’s going to be and he’s there at all times,” Prescott said. “He’s a guy that wants to be better and wants to be great. That’s fun to have.”

Dak Prescott to Tavon Austin pic.twitter.com/ISDcmRbjR4

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 1, 2018

Tavon Austin is doing things in Cowboys camp 👀

(via @Tayaustin01) pic.twitter.com/Q61vzCfB5p

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) August 6, 2018