Who Should I Start? Calvin Austin III or Rashid Shaheed

Tuesday, December 30, 8:45 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III (hamstring) was inactive for the team's Week 17 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. The Steelers were also missing DK Metcalf due to a suspension that will continue into the Week 18 regular-season finale this weekend against the division-rival Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night. Tight end Pat Freirmuth led the Steelers in receiving with three catches for 63 yards against Cleveland. The 26-year-old Austin is trending in the right direction to return to the division-deciding battle against Baltimore this weekend, and with Metcalf out for another game, Austin could be heavily targeted by quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Austin still won't exactly inspire confidence from fantasy managers with something still on the line in Week 18, as he has gone over 50 receiving yards just twice in 13 games, and not since Nov. 2. Austin has only found the end zone twice in 2025, too, with the last one coming back on Sept. 21.

Tuesday, December 30, 10:57 PM

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver/kick returner Rashid Shaheed (concussion) was listed as limited in Tuesday's practice session, according to Josh Dubow of The Associated Press. Shaheed is in the league's concussion protocol after suffering a concussion in the first quarter of Sunday's win over the Carolina Panthers. It's good news that the 27-year-old wideout was on the field on Tuesday, but he has some boxes to check before he can get cleared before Saturday night's big divisional matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. If Shaheed doesn't get cleared to play in the Week 18 regular-season finale, it would open up Cooper Kupp, Jake Bobo, Dareke Young, and AJ Barner for more targets in the passing game. When healthy, Shaheed is a boom/bust deep threat for Seattle, who has been hard to trust as a WR4/flex in fantasy. In his eight games with Seattle, he has 14 receptions on 25 targets for 186 yards and no touchdowns.