Spending two seasons as the New York Giants’ primary punt returner, Gunner Olszewski re-signed with the new-look team this offseason. But another season-altering injury looks to have occurred.
Olszewski, who missed all of the 2024 season, went down with a noncontact injury at Giants OTAs on Friday. The team fears the veteran special teams presence suffered an Achilles tear, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The former first-team All-Pro returner is undergoing testing to confirm this.
If Olszewski did tear his Achilles, he would be the third Giants player to suffer that season-ending injury so far this offseason.
Defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris and cornerback Thaddeus Dixon have already torn their Achilles.
Re-signing with the Giants on a one-year, $1.4M deal that included $300K guaranteed, Olszewski has been with the team since 2023. The Giants added him that year after a Steelers stint. Olszewski, 30, began his career with the Patriots in 2019. This could be his second season-nullifying injury in three years.
The Giants used Olszewski as their top punt returner in 2023, signing him in November of that year after the Steelers cut him in-season. Olszewski, who earned his All-Pro slot with the Patriots in 2020, returned a punt for a score in his first season with the Giants. He re-signed in 2024 but landed on IR that September and was never activated. A groin injury sidelined the veteran special-teamer two years ago, but the Giants brought him back in July 2025.
He played in 16 games for the team last season, seeing more time on offense for a team that lost Malik Nabers to an ACL tear and played without Darius Slayton for a chunk of the campaign. In addition to his punt-return duties, Olszewski caught a career-high 10 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown. As kick returns became a notable NFL sequence thanks to a pivotal offseason rule tweak, Olszewski also worked as New York’s top kick-return option in 2025.
Big Blue made three key receiver additions this offseason, signing Darnell Mooney and Calvin Austin before trading up for Notre Dame’s Malachi Fields in the third round. Austin will be an option in the punt-return game, having played extensively in that role with the Steelers from 2023-25. His presence did not make Olszewski a roster lock in Harbaugh’s first year, with the Giants — who lost Wan’Dale Robinson in free agency — still rostering Slayton. Nabers is not a lock to return from injury in Week 1, but it is too early to call him a reserve/PUP list candidate.
