Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 season is getting underway after the team finished above .500 but failing to make the postseason last year, we turn our attention to the next chapter of Steelers football and everything that entails. One thing that it means is that some stock evaluations are going to start taking on more specific contexts as we get into the season, reflecting more immediate plusses and minus rather than trends over long periods. The nature of the evaluation, whether short-term or long-term, will be noted in the reasoning section below.
Player: WR Gunner Olszewski
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: Not only did WR Gunner Olszewski successfully land a spot on the Steelers’ 53-man roster for a second year in a row, the team also reportedly restructured his contract in some way that lowered his cap hit for 2023. It’s not clear exactly what they did—anywhere between a pay cut to adding void years—but either way, it further signals their intentions to retain him on the roster.
Gunner Olszewski is liked by the average non-Polish Steelers fan about as much as he is hated by the average (Polish or non-Polish) Steelers quarterback.
Let me state that more clearly: the fans don’t like him, but the quarterbacks love him. All of them have sung his praises, essentially calling him a quarterback’s best friend. Head coach Mike Tomlin has recently talked up the qualities that he brings to the team, which tend to be rooted in his intelligence and team-first approach, as well as his ubiquitous availability. QB Kenny Pickett, for example, spent a lot of time throwing to him during private workouts this offseason.
On the other hand, a lot of fans tend not to like what he can bring to the team because—well, they haven’t seen it. The truth is that he hasn’t done very much at all as a receiver, and I’m not just talking about the NFL. He was a defensive back at Bemidji State University. The New England Patriots converted him to wide receiver because they coveted his return abilities.
And there’s the kicker. He was an All-Pro returner in 2020, yet the Patriots didn’t want to bring him back as a restricted free agent last year. The Steelers signed him primarily to be their return man after losing Ray-Ray McCloud, but after repeated ball security issues early on he was riding the bench, replaced by Steven Sims.
Yet here we are, a year later, and Olszewski is still here. Though Sims departed in free agency, he actually did not survive roster cuts and to the best of my knowledge has not yet signed with another team. There are no indications Pittsburgh is looking to bring him back.
Indeed, reports are the Steelers restructured Olszewski’s contract, which is generally only something you want to do with players whom you are confident will be on your roster. While in the long run it hardly makes a difference, you just prefer your dead money to belong to a player who is still on the field for you.
And Olszewski will still be on the field for the Steelers in 2023. In what capacity, I’m not sure. I wouldn’t be surprised if he opens the season as the kick returner, with Calvin Austin III handling punts, but we’ll have to see.
