Twenty hours after he made the play of the day at Pittsburgh Steelers practice, Gunner Olszewski took the moment in stride.
“Of course, it feels good,” the veteran said from the Saint Vincent College campus late Friday morning. “Doing your job (well) feels good.”
Especially when that job isn’t necessarily what you’re best known for.
Olszewski’s long catch-and-run for more than 60 yards for a “touchdown” midway through Thursday’s practice was the most notable play of the session. Olszewski had beaten second-year defensive back Tre Norwood down the left sideline and caught a pass in stride from Mason Rudolph about 30 yards downfield.
Olszewski is a former All Pro — but for returning punts. As an NFL receiver, he’s had just nine catches for 127 yards and one touchdown over 37 games in three seasons. But after joining the Steelers via a two-year, $4.2 million contract in March, can Olszewski contribute on offense as much as he is expected to on special teams?
“I am just going to do whatever I can to help the team in any way I can,” Olszewski said. “If I am asked to run routes, I am going to try to run routes to the best of my ability and catch footballs. If I am asked to return punts I am going to return punts to the best of my ability. I put the team first and will do that.”
As recently as two seasons ago, Olszewski was deemed the best in the #NFL at returning punts, via All-Pro balloting. https://t.co/untTeNfelT
— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) March 21, 2022
Olszewski spent his first three seasons with the New England Patriots, averaging 12.6 yards on 66 punt returns and 23.2 yards on 36 kickoff returns. His All Pro season was 2020 when he had an NFL-best 17.3-yard average returning punts and a touchdown.
Olszewski was up first in the punt return line when the Steelers repped live punts Thursday for the first time this camp.
“This team expects a lot out of its special-teams units, which is what I am used to from the old team I played with,” Olszewski said. “I enjoy that part of the game. And where they hold that (in high esteem), it’s high here, too, so I am excited.”
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