Bemidji State alumnus Gunner Olszewski signs with New York Giants
Mar. 12—EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — According to reports, the New York Giants have agreed to terms with wide receiver/return specialist Gunner Olszewski, pending a physical. The new pact is for one year, according to ESPN's Jordan Ranaan.
Olszewski is a Bemidji State alumnus and has played in the NFL since 2019 after signing with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent. He is the longest-tenured former Bemidji State player in NFL history and was the first Beaver named to the NFL All-Pro team, earning a first-team spot as a punt returner in 2020.
Olszewski was a perennial all-conference defensive back at BSU and was named the NSIC Defensive Player of the Year in 2018. He was also named a Division II All-American that season.
Since he entered the NFL in 2019, Olszewski ranks second in punt return yards (1,170) and punt return average (11.9 yards).
A five-year veteran, Olszewski was signed to the Giants' practice squad on Oct. 23, 2023, two days after he was released by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was added to the active roster on Nov. 3.
Olszewski was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week in the second-to-last game for the Giants last season after his 94-yard punt return touchdown. It was the second-longest punt return in Giants history and the longest in 95 years. On Sept. 30, 1928, Al Youngblood scored on a 95-yard return in a season-opening road game against the Pottsville Maroons.
The Giants had played 132 regular-season and three postseason games since their previous punt return touchdown. Dwayne Harris scored on an 80-yard return against the New York Jets on Dec. 6, 2015.
The punt return touchdown was the second of Olszewski's career. On Dec. 6, 2020, he scored on a 70-yard runback for the New England Patriots against the Chargers in Los Angeles. In that game, Olszewski returned three punts for 145 yards (48.3-yard average), a performance that earned him AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. He finished that season with a 17.3-yard punt return average that led the NFL and was the highest in Patriots history.
