During an interview earlier this week, Jerry Reese was asked about defensive tackle Marvin Austin.

And the general manager expressed concern about last year's second-round pick.

"We’re worried about him a little bit," Reese said in an interview on SiriusXM NFL radio on Monday. "He hasn't played in a long time now. He has been out for such a long time."

Austin did not play in 2010 because of the agent NCAA scandal at North Carolina. And he missed his rookie season last year due to a torn pectoral injury suffered during the preseason. He has been rehabbing and says he will be ready for training camp and hopes to participate in offseason training activities.

"This offseason is going to be big for him to get going again and get acclimated to playing football if nothing else," Reese said. "And playing at this level, which is going to be shocking to him because he hasn’t played for such a long time and to go in and tussle with those big guys, it is going to be tougher than he thinks it is. But he is a talented kid and we hope he can get in there with Linval Joseph and Chris Canty and some other guys inside."