The New York Giants have re-signed Gunner Olszewski, a wide receiver and special teams player who previously appeared in 10 games for the team during the 2023 season before spending last year on injured reserve. This move comes as Bryce Ford-Wheaton was placed on injured reserve following a torn Achilles suffered during a training camp practice on Sunday.
Ford-Wheaton’s injury marks his second major setback in three seasons. As an undrafted rookie from West Virginia, he tore his ACL in the final preseason game of 2023. After recovering, he made the 53-man roster last season and played more snaps on special teams than any other offensive player, ranking third overall on the team.
One of Ford-Wheaton’s notable moments occurred in Week 5 against Seattle when Isaiah Simmons blocked a field goal attempt. Ford-Wheaton returned the ball 60 yards for a touchdown—his first NFL touch.
“My heart aches for that man,” coach Brian Daboll said before Monday’s practice. “He’s done everything he could do to get back. He’s a very good special teams player for us and was having a good camp from working back from his injury. He’s just laying there on the ground and you just can’t help but… That’s the tough part of this business – probably one of the worst (parts) is seeing these guys go down that have put so much time and effort and energy into getting back and we’ll certainly miss him. It’s just an unfortunate thing for Bryce, I feel terrible for him, I feel bad for our team because he was a good player for us in the kicking game and now other people are going to have to step up but, man, that was a tough one.”
Olszewski has been recognized for his contributions on special teams. In 2023, he was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week after returning a punt 94 yards for a touchdown—the second-longest in franchise history and their longest in nearly a century. The Giants had not scored on a punt return since Dwayne Harris did so against the Jets in December 2015.
This marked Olszewski’s second career punt return touchdown; his first came with the New England Patriots against the Chargers in December 2020. That day, he returned three punts for 145 yards—a performance that earned him AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. He led the NFL with a 17.3-yard average that season, which also set a new record for New England and resulted in first-team All-Pro recognition.
Olszewski joined New England as an undrafted rookie out of Bemidji State University in 2019.
