The Pittsburgh Steelers are releasing WR Gunner Olszewski. That’s according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, who tweeted the news moments ago.
Presumably, this spot is being freed up in advance of the team activating WR Diontae Johnson off injured reserve and to their 53-man roster for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams. That move should become official tomorrow afternoon.
Signed ahead of the 2022 season as the team’s primary return man, Olszewski struggled mightily with fumbles and muffed punts. That included a handful of miscues this season, notably a fumble in Week Two against the Cleveland Browns as a receiver and a fumble in the team’s Week Five game against the Baltimore Ravens as a punt returner. Now, the team is moving on.
Though not a fumble, Olszewski had a mental miscue and fielded a kickoff against the Browns instead of letting the ball go out of bounds. It cost the Steelers 31 yards of field position. After fumbles last year, he lost his returner job to WR Steven Sims.
RB Anthony McFarland Jr. is expected to also be activated off IR and should resume his role as the Steelers’ starting kick returner. WR Calvin Austin III will handle punts.
In two years with the team, Olszewski caught six passes for 53 yards. He carried the ball eight times for 39 yards. As a returner, he averaged 7.0 yards on nine punt returns and 14.0 yards on five kick returns.
