There is an expression that goes, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. What it means is that you can prepare somebody for something, but ultimately it’s up to them to do what they need to do when the time arrives for them to act.
I think that’s where we are wide veteran return man Gunner Olszewski, who had the bonehead play of the game when he fielded a kickoff inbounds at the nine-yard line right at the boundary. The ball was clearly going to go out of bounds, which would have induced a penalty that put the ball at the 40-yard line.
And that wasn’t his only option. A new rule instituted this offseason allows players to fair catch a kick anywhere inside the 25-yard line and have the ball brought out to the 25. In theory, that would make it very difficult for teams to ever start with more than a 75-yard field ahead of them off a kickoff. Yet Olszewski managed to do it. He didn’t let it go out of bounds. He didn’t fair catch it. He toe-tapped to stay inbounds. Even if he fielded it with one toe on the white, it would have gone out to the 40.
How did Olszewski justify himself for that decision, which caused the offense to lose 31 yards of field position? Did head coach Mike Tomlin seek an explanation from his former All-Pro kick returner? “I did not”, he told reporters yesterday during his weekly press conference, via the team’s website. “Sometimes I don’t ask questions because I don’t want to hear excuses”.
Olszewski was only active for the game because of injuries to WR Diontae Johnson and RB Anthony McFarland Jr. The Steelers signed him a year ago as a free agent to be their return man, but he was benched within a few games due to ball-security issues.
He opened the 2023 season as the backup returner for both kicks and punts, McFarland being their starting kick returner, so when the running back was down for Monday’s game, he was up. And he did himself no favors trying to get back into special teams coordinator Danny Smith’s graces.
Those who watched the game know that wasn’t his only bad moment of the night. Later on, playing on offense, he lost a fumble after taking a hit following a reception. He actually took a hard shot and left the game and is in the concussion protocol.
With McFarland on the Reserve/Injured List, the Steelers will need somebody to return kicks for the next three weeks. After Olszewski’s exit, punt returner Calvin Austin III handled the role, so he may have to pull double duty until then.
Because even if Olszewski is cleared and ready to go for the Steelers’ next game, there’s no guaranteeing the coaches would be willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and put him back out there. The fact of the matter is bad things have tended to happen since he’s been in Pittsburgh when he touches the ball. That’s just a fact.
