The Steelers are now back at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, facing down a long regular season that looks a lot more promising given how things have gone leading up to it. Finishing just above .500 last year, they anticipate being able to compete with any team in the league this season with second-year QB Kenny Pickett leading the way.
They’ve done a great deal to address what they identified as their shortcomings during the offseason, which included addressing the offensive and defensive lines as well as the secondary and the inside linebacker room, which is nearly entirely different from last year. The results have been positive so far.
Even well into the regular season and beyond, there are going to be plenty of questions that need answered. When will the core rookies get to play, or even start? Is the depth sufficient where they upgraded? Can they stand toe-to-toe with the Bengals and the other top teams in the league? We’ll try to frame the conversation in relevant ways as long as you stick with us throughout the season, as we have for many years.
Question: Will Gunner Olszewski be back on kick returns after being cleared from the concussion protocol, or will it be Desmond King II? Or Calvin Austin III?
Things did not go so well for Gunner Olszewski the last time he stepped foot on the field. He touched the ball twice, and he cost the Steelers 31 yards and possession on his respective touches. The latter was after taking a hit after a reception and fumbling. The former was more inexplicable.
Replacing Anthony McFarland Jr. as the kick returner due to injury, Olszewski toe-tapped a kickoff at the nine-yard line for unknown reasons. The ball clearly looked to be going out of bounds, in which case it would have been spotted at the 40-yard line as a penalty.
My only conjecture is that the new touchback rule was in his mind that any kick fair caught inside the 25-yard line would be spotted at the 25—but he didn’t even signal for a fair catch. The new information and his first time working with it seemed to have caused some mind flatulence, and we got the gas from it.
Olszewski was inactive in the season opener, but dressed last week and started as kick returner due to McFarland’s knee injury, landing him on the Reserve/Injured List. He must still miss at least two games.
CB Desmond King II actually worked kick returns last week, but all four of the Las Vegas Raiders’ kickoffs registered as touchbacks in the traditional manner, so he went untested. In the game in which Olszewski was injured, punt returner Calvin Austin III took over to finish the day.
So, the Steelers have some options. Of the three, none have actually ‘returned’ a kick for the Steelers in any meaningful sense. Will it be door number one, door number two, or door number three—or perhaps even door number four? The team added RB Godwin Igwebuike to the roster recently, and he has kick return experience as well.
