Let there be no mistaking this one simple fact: the NFL is a production business. Everybody has a job at this level because it was determined that they would be able to produce at whatever it is that they would be asked to do. If you don’t produce, you tend to find yourself back on the job market.
That’s exactly what happened to WR Gunner Olszewski, who 22 games into his career as a Pittsburgh Steeler is now looking for a new home. It was reported that the team intends to release him six weeks into the season, and it’s not hard to see why.
Signed last offseason as a return specialist with an All-Pro resume, Olszewski never brought the tangible value he was signed to produce. He quickly lost his return job last year due to ball security issues and didn’t even win one of the return jobs this year. He had an egregiously bad gaffe fielding a kickoff inbounds at the sideline earlier this year, only to be outdone by yet another fumble.
Just take a gander at some of the ‘highlights’ of his Steelers tenure and you’ll quickly and easily understand why he hasn’t exactly become a local folk hero. He’s had more negative plays than positive, with virtually none that have been neutral.
and yet in spite all of this, while he very much earned his release, he didn’t earn the bile and the vitriol he’s gotten over the past year. I understand, he’s a well-compensated professional athlete who didn’t do his job. His mistakes very directly hurt the Steelers on multiple occasions.
But nobody was more upset about each of those blunders than he was, and is. Not just because it cost him his job—he’s still getting paid anybody because his salary for the season became guaranteed once he was on the opening-week roster.
Rather, it hurts him because he’s a football player who has a genuine and infectious passion for the game who wants to play well and contribute positively to a winning organization. In Pittsburgh, the simple fact of the matter is that he failed spectacularly to do that.
Even I have to marvel at just how bad his tenure in Pittsburgh was. Putting him on the field became a liability, and yet he has an All-Pro background as a return specialist. It just seemed that he couldn’t get out of his own way here.
Perhaps part of it was him pressing, trying to make things happen because of his struggles. He knew he would have to make plays to earn his keep. And then he found himself in a deficit of positive plays. His fumble against his former team, the New England Patriots a year ago, is still cited by fans as the reason they lost. For some, it’s the reason they missed the postseason as well.
But while his results on the field may have been awful, he can’t be faulted for his enthusiasm and his dedication to team and teammates. I don’t know if he’ll be able to get back on the tight track in another organization, and there’s no doubt the Steelers made the right decision in releasing him. But let’s also remember that he’s just a guy trying to be his best to succeed at the sport he loves. Yeah, he failed, and how, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort and dedication.
