Steelers Insider Takes Subtle, But Clear Shot At Gunner Olszewski

The Pittsburgh Steelers were never going to be favorites in the AFC North, let alone the conference as a whole, entering the 2023 season. The defense was expected to be somewhat dominant, but the offensive unit had plenty of question marks with the main point of conversation being second-year quarterback, Kenny Pickett. A win against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday Night Football encouraged Steelers fans that the franchise signal-caller is bound to settle in as the team approaches an early Week 6 bye. Injuries have hurt Mike Tomlin's team, but a 2-1 record is not a bad mark to be at.

Tomlin has a reputation for being extremely loyal to players and coaches alike. The allegiance isn't anything new to the city of Pittsburgh. The organization is one of the most well-respected in sports and for good reason; the environment and camaraderie is not similar to a normal professional football franchise. Despite Tomlin being labeled as a "player's coach," he has recently been open about being upset with pieces of the special teams unit.

Gunner Olszewski was looked at as an underrated free agent signing in 2022. Pittsburgh's special teams coordinator, Danny Smith was looking for a spark in the return game and there may not have been a better option on the market than a former All-Pro. It did not all go according to plan, however, as Olszewski struggled early on in the Steel City and Steven Sims went on to take his job.

Olszewski didn't see his time end in Pittsburgh in 2023 like Sims did, and he even found himself an unexpected opportunity when Diontae Johnson went on Injured Reserve with a hamstring injury. Unfortunately for the veteran, he was not very impressive against the Cleveland Browns in Week 2. He didn't just fumble and turn the ball over on offense, he made a wild, head-scratching and toe-tapping catch on a kickoff. 

Steelers' Olszewski Has Unfortunate And Embarrassing Moment On Monday Night Football

It was rather embarrassing for Olszewski to portray himself as a wide receiver attempting to keep both feet in bounds while receiving a kick return. It didn't go unnoticed, either.

Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently held a chat for fans and answered several questions surrounding the Steelers. Someone was interested in the new kickoff rules that allow a returner to call a fair catch anywhere on the field; similar to a punt. The fan mentioned Olszewski, but Fittipaldo clearly made it a point to imply that most returners would have called for a fair catch instead of doing, well, whatever it is that Olszewski had in mind.

"From what I've seen this year, place kickers are being asked to boot the ball out of the end zone. When a special teams coach asks his place kicker to execute a sky kick -- like the one to Gunner Olszewski -- that's when you'll see more fair catches."

Fittipaldo was far from shy when mentioning Olszewski, but clearly implied that the fair catch should have been called in the specific scenario. It looks even worse for the Steelers wide receiver when a viewer realizes that he tried to convince the official that he called a fair catch in the first place.

This is not to pick on Olszewski, but it's hard not to critique his miscues against the Browns. It was a huge divisional matchup and the wideout and supposed special teams aces was far from effective. He was inactive in Week 3 against the Raiders, but didn't do himself any favors after multiple blunders against Cleveland. Fittipaldo made sure to throw just a little bit of shade his way in his chat.

Do you think that the Steelers should have parted ways with Olszewski by now? Let us know in the comments below!

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