Giants fear Gunner Olszewski tore his Achilles, the third such injury of their spring
The return man grabbed his right leg on a non-contact cut and was carted off Friday's OTA. John Harbaugh called it 'disappointing.' It's the Giants' third Achilles tear this offseason.
Gunner Olszewski grabbed his right leg on a non-contact change-of-direction play during Friday's Giants OTA, then was carted off the field. The team fears a torn Achilles, per ESPN. Tests are pending, but if confirmed it ends his 2026 season and marks the third Achilles tear the Giants have suffered this spring.
What happened?
It was a non-contact change of direction on grass. Olszewski immediately grabbed his right leg and was carted off Friday's practice. Head coach John Harbaugh described it plainly: 'That was a noncontact change in direction kind of a deal on the grass there. So that was disappointing.' The mechanism, a cut with no one around him, is the classic Achilles-rupture signature, which is why the team's fear ran toward the worst case before imaging came back.
What does Olszewski do for the Giants?
He's a returner first and a depth receiver second. Last season he had 24 punt returns for 216 yards and caught 8 passes for 102 yards in one start. The 29-year-old has played for the Patriots, Steelers, and Giants across 81 career games, and re-signed with New York on a one-year deal this offseason after missing all of 2024 to injury. His value lives on special teams, where his experience is harder to replace than his receiving snaps.
How bad is the timing for the Giants?
Bad, because it compounds. New York is already managing injuries to receivers Malik Nabers and Darius Slayton, and Olszewski would be the third Giant lost to an Achilles tear this spring alone. The receiving snaps are absorbable given the room's depth, but the cluster of soft-tissue injuries across the same position group is the kind of pattern that forces a team into the post-camp waiver wire earlier than it wants.
Players in this story
Sources
- ESPN: Giants fear WR Gunner Olszewski has torn Achilles, sources say
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