Gunner Olszewski

Kaleb Gunner Olszewski[1] (/ˈoʊˈʃɛˈski/)[2] (born November 26, 1996) is an American football wide receiver and punt returner for the New England Patriots. He played college football at Bemidji State as a cornerback.

Gunner Olszewski
No. 80 – New England Patriots
Position:Wide receiver
Punt returner
Personal information
Born: (1996-11-26) November 26, 1996
Alvin, Texas
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High school:Alvin High School
(Alvin, Texas)
College:Bemidji State
Undrafted:2019
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
  • NSIC Defensive Player of the Year (2018)
  • AFCA Division II All-America First Team (2018)
  • NSIC Newcomer of the Year (2015)
Career NFL statistics as of 2019
Receptions:2
Receiving yards:34
Return yards:179
Total touchdowns:0
Player stats at NFL.com

Early life

Olszewski was born in Alvin, Texas, to Eric and Collette Olszewski. He graduated from Alvin High School, where he played football and baseball.[3] He has two brothers: one older and one younger.

College career

Olszewski played for the Bemidji State University Beavers in Bemidji, Minnesota, a Division II school, as a cornerback.[4] In his 2015 freshman season, Olszewski was named Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Newcomer of the Year. Olszewski won Defensive Player of the Year in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference as a senior in 2018.[5]

Professional career

Olszewski was not selected in the 2019 NFL Draft. After the draft, he was invited to participate in rookie minicamps by the Minnesota Vikings, who used him at cornerback,[6] and the New England Patriots, who used him at wide receiver.[7] On May 23, 2019, after the retirement of Jared Veldheer gave the Patriots a roster opening, they signed Olszewski to an undrafted free agent contract.[8] The three-year deal had a $2,500 signing bonus.[9]

On August 31, the day that teams were required to trim their preseason 90-man rosters to 53-man rosters, the Patriots told Olszewski that morning that he would be waived; instead, the Patriots kept him after trading cornerback Keion Crossen less than an hour before the deadline.[10]

He made his NFL debut in the Patriots' 33–3 Week 1 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers, returning two punts for 35 yards (averaging 17.5 yards per return).[11] He recorded his first receptions in Week 6 against the New York Giants; targeted three times, he had two receptions, for five and 29 yards.[12] He was placed on injured reserve on November 19, 2019 with ankle and hamstring injuries.[13]

References
  1. Hittinger, Jack (October 21, 2015). "BSU's Young Gun: True freshman cornerback Gunner Olszewski finding his place at Bemidji State". The Bemidji Pioneer. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  2. "Pronunciation Guide - Patriots". Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  3. Collins, Stephen. "That's Just Gunner: Former Alvin coach thrilled to see Olszewski make Super Bowl champs' roster". The Alvin Sun-Advertiser. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  4. "2015 ROSTER". Bemidji State Athletics.
  5. Callahan, Andrew (June 6, 2019). "Gunner Olszewski, the New England Patriots' greatest underdog in years, is taking his shot". masslive.com. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  6. Daniels, Mark (June 15, 2019). "An unlikely break changed Olszewski's future". Providence Journal. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  7. McBride, Jim (June 5, 2019). "A former college DB, Gunner Olszewski aims for greatness as a pro WR". Boston Globe. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  8. Houde, Isaiah (June 6, 2019). "Gunner Olszewski is making a name for himself in New England". USA Today. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  9. Clements, Devon (May 29, 2019). "Report: Gunner Olszewski receives rookie minimum deal from Patriots". Patriots Wire. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  10. Callahan, Andrew (August 31, 2019). "Report: Patriots rookie WR Gunner Olszewski makes roster after being told he would be released". masslive.com. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  11. Cox, Zack (September 9, 2019). "Patriots' Gunner Olszewski Flashes Punt-Return Potential In NFL Debut Vs. Steelers". NESN.com. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  12. McGuire, Sean T. (October 11, 2019). "Jakobi Meyers, Gunner Olszewski step up for Patriots with injured receiving corps". Patriots Wire. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  13. "Patriots activate OL Isaiah Wynn; Place WR Gunner Olszewski on IR". Patriots.com. November 19, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
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