Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers inadvertently reveals why WR Calvin Austin III was out of practice for weeks before returning

Before practice on Monday, Calvin Austin III had not practiced since August 1st for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Because teams don't have to release injury information until the regular season, there were all sorts of rumors and hearsay regarding Austin's injury.

And while Aaron Rodgers probably didn't mean to, he ended up mentioning what's been bothering Austin while complimenting the young pass catcher.

Calvin Austin III is coming back from an Oblique injury

"I talk to him. He sits a couple over from me. So just keeping the community in the conversation. Keep communicating with him," Rodgers said regarding Austin on Tuesday. "Nobody is more upset about not being out there than him. So just trying to keep it positive with him because it is hard to be hurt any time of the year. . .

" . . .Camp with a new quarterback and building off the last year, I'm sure there's some frustration, but he hadn't shown it. He's one of the happiest guys, one of my favorite guys in the locker room. So, I’ll be happy to get him back. He was out there at walk-through today, so I threw him a couple balls, made sure that oblique was feeling good, but yeah, I'm excited to get him back out."

The first we've heard of what's been bothering Austin, obliques are very odd injuries in football. A muscle that runs perpendicular to one's torso, a lot of the time it's golfers or baseball players who have to torque their hips who sustain such an injury. Occasionally, we have seen quarterbacks deal with it, because the throwing motion involves the mechanical rotation of their core.