The New York Giants held their weekly workouts in East Rutherford on Monday and this time around, there was a focus on return men.
“I’d say we’re going to look at it here. We’re going to look at it,” head coach Brian Daboll said when asked about changing their punt returner. “We’ll have workouts this week like we always do.”
The need for a new punt returner comes after a Sunday debacle in which both running back Eric Gray and wide receiver Sterling Shepard muffed punts, resulting in one turnover. The Giants eventually resorted to using wide receiver Darius Slayton, who was simply instructed to call a fair catch or allow the ball to bounce.
Slayton, of course, drew some Bronx cheers for doing exactly that.
But come a Week 8 game against the New York Jets, there will likely be a new player returning punts for the Giants.
Following Monday’s workouts, the Giants signed veteran wide receiver Gunner Olszewski.
The 26-year-old Olszewski was originally signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Bemidji State in 2019. After three seasons with the Pats, Olszewski spent a year-plus with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was released on October 21.
Olszewski was named a First Team All-Pro in 2020 when he led the NFL with 346 punt return yards. He also had a long of 70 yards and brought one back for a touchdown that season.
In 55 career games (four starts), Olszewski has hauled in 15 receptions for 180 yards and one touchdown, and rushed the ball 14 times for 71 yards. He’s also returned 41 kickoffs for 904 yards and 75 punts for 897 yards and one touchdown.
