Jason Leach
At Friday’s OTA session, New York Giants kick returner/wide receiver Gunner Olszewski went down on a non-contact injury, and the team fears he tore his Achilles tendon and will be lost for the season.
Olszewski was seen slamming his fist on the ground in agony before being carted off the field. The team is awaiting tests to confirm the injury, but it appears the Giants will be without one of their most versatile playmakers for the season.
This will be the third player New York has lost to a torn Achilles this offseason. Earlier this spring, the team lost defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris and undrafted rookie cornerback Thaddeus Dixon.
“That was a noncontact change-in-direction kind of a deal on the grass there. So that was disappointing.” Head coach John Harbaugh said on Friday.
Last season, Olszewski returned 26 kickoffs for 682 yards and returned 24 punts for 216 yards. He also had 10 receptions for 145 yards and a touchdown, and threw a 33-yard touchdown to Jameis Winston in Week 12 against the Detroit Lions.
Losing Olszewski is a huge blow to the special teams unit. In his absence, the team may use Calvin Austin III, whom the team signed to a one-year deal in free agency, to return punts. Austin’s primary role was to be the team’s slot receiver, but since he’s returned 72 punts in his career for 639 yards and a touchdown, he would be more than an adequate replacement.
Regarding finding a new primary kick returner, that could come down to running back Devin Singletary or corner Deonte Banks. Singletary returned 12 kicks for the team in 2025 for 313 yards, with his longest return being 33 yards.
Banks also served time last year as a kick returner and had a 95-yard kick return for a touchdown in the Giants’ 34-10 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 17. The fourth-year corner has struggled mightily with his play on defense, and perhaps the only way he can guarantee a roster spot is to excel as a returner.
New York will have their mandatory minicamp beginning on June 8th, and that’s where we should get a glimpse of how they intend to replace Olszeski.
