After a horrid game played by Gunner in the rock right, 26-22 Steelers win, the 26 year old special teamer and occasional wide receiver will be someone under close scrutiny in the following days.
Gunner didn’t play much on Monday Night Football when the Steelers hosted the Cleveland Browns, but he certainly made it known when he was on the field…for all the wrong reasons.
On Monday night, appearing in the role of kick returner, Gunner seemed to have one of the worst mental miscues we’ve seen in quite some time. Observe:
Despite already having 7 points on the board, the Steelers are about to get the ball on offense. Cleveland’s Dustin Hopkins boots the ball, which is appearing destined to go out of bounds.
Kicking the ball out of bounds on a kickoff is a penalty, one that results in the ball being placed on the 40 yard line. Instead of simply letting it go out of bounds, Gunner caught it, then perfectly toe tapped to keep both feet in bounds before stepping out.
This play cost the Steelers 31 yards in field position.
Not long after, still in the first quarter, Gunner gets his only target of the game. Under pressure, Kenny Pickett scrambles, eventually finding an open Olszewski at around the line of scrimmage.
Almost immediately after catching it, however, he loses the ball in such a wacky series of events.
Now, in fairness to Gunner, many receivers on the Steelers team would have a hard time maintaining the ball after taking a hit like this, but it’s still a bad play and more importantly, a turnover.
It’s important to note that Gunner appeared injured right away on this play. His body locks up, almost motionless on the ground, and he had to be assisted off the field. He has since been listed on the injury report with a concussion.
In regards to the kickoff mistake, head coach Mike Tomlin didn’t mince words when asked about it yesterday. When asked whether or not he talked to Gunner about his mistake, Tomlin answered that he didn’t, telling the media “Sometimes I don’t ask questions because I don’t need excuses.”
He’s lost a lot of faith from the fans, and now his head coach, rightfully so, isn’t hesitating to call him out.
Now the question becomes, what do you do with Gunner?
The short answer is likely nothing. Gunner was filling in for the injured Anthony McFarland Jr., who is currently on IR and is going to miss at least three more games. With not a lot of return-type depth left on the roster, Gunner is probably still the guy there, provided he is available to play on Sunday.
Should he be though? Probably not.
Even after being brought in because of his work on special teams, he has struggled to produce much of anything in his limited chances.
And pointing out his limited chances is important. Last season, shortly after muffing a punt against his old team, the New England Patriots, Gunner was unseated from his return duties for Steven Sims, who handled the job much better.
Gunner did have a good training camp, earning him a somewhat surprising roster spot on the 2023 team, even as Calvin Austin was also emerging as a returns player. But the in-game plays have been costly to the Steelers for over a year now.
If he is any kind of kick returns role next week, he probably does whatever he can to NOT touch the ball.
(Featured image by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
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