Gunner Olszewski signed with the Steelers a few years ago after the New England Patriots let the former All-Pro special teamer walk. Signing Olszewski was an intriguing decision for the Steelers, but made sense as Pittsburgh wanted to upgrade its special teams unit, while also giving Olszewski an opportunity to play wide receiver.
While the jury is still out on the former Patriot as a wideout, his special teams career in Pittsburgh may have just ended. In the first quarter against the Cleveland Browns, Olszewski had a brainfart of sorts as he tried to keep a ball inbounds that would have otherwise been a Browns penalty on the kickoff.
Now, how does a former All-Pro who played under Bill Freaking Belichick make such a decision? Well, it's clear to me -- he's a spy. This is the same team guilty of a literal scandal called SpyGate. Would it be so shocking if a former special teamer was forwarding the Steelers signals to his old team?
How did Gunner Olszewski screw over the Steelers?
Well, by dragging his second foot inbounds, Olszewski ensured that the ball would be placed near the 10-yard line, rather than near the 40. He essentially cost Pittsburgh about 25-30 yards simply by dragging his second foot, which was highly unnecessary given how close the ball was to going out of play.
I listed Olszewski as a possible cut candidate this offseason because his special teams role had been taken over by the likes of Calvin Austin and more. However, clearly Tomlin sees some benefit in having Olszewski on the field, especially in special teams, as he's viewed as a player who will always make the right decision.
So, about that...
If Olszewski isn't making the right choices on special teams, then there isn't much value to having him on the team in general.
