Brian Daboll isn’t yet ready to be definitive about who will return punts for the Giants a week from Sunday.
But after Isaiah McKenzie went on injured reserve with a foot injury, it appears the job will be Gunner Olszewski’s — unless Olszewski’s own groin injury keeps him from playing the season-opener against the Vikings.
“He’s making progress,” Daboll said before Thursday’s practice. “He was out here catching punts yesterday. I think he’s making improvements. I would hope so, but again, it’s 10 days, 11 days away. We’ll see where he’s at.”
Olszewski has played before as a receiver, but for most of his NFL career, he has operated largely as a return specialist, with an All-Pro season in 2020 marking a high.
The Giants picked up the 27-year-old last season after the Steelers waived him after he fumbled twice in two games.
He coughed up the ball again during his first game with the Giants, but by the end of the season, he had settled into a regular role as a punt returner and notched a touchdown late in the year during a loss to the Rams.
Before suffering a groin injury, Olszewski looked on pace to win the job again out of camp, but when he was out, McKenzie appeared to be gaining steam.
Then, because football is a cruel thing, McKenzie went down.
“You never want that for nobody,” Olszewski told The Post. “Circumstances are what they are. It’s part of this game, getting hurt. It’s not if, it’s when and how bad. So it’s unfortunate for both of us to get hurt when we did. There’s never a good time to get hurt, but there’s definitely worse times than others. I’m progressing, so I feel good with where I’m at.”
Olszewski struck an optimistic tone about his injury — a good sign for the Giants, who don’t have another obvious punt return candidate if he isn’t ready. Darius Slayton returned nine kickoffs in 2019 but has never returned a punt in the NFL.
“That’s internal discussions,” Daboll said of other options. “We have guys there catching balls. There’s always things we can do to add to the roster if we wanted to, but I think Gunner’s moving in the right direction.”
He would, by the sound of it, agree.
“I feel good enough,” Olszewski said. “Obviously, I’m here, so I must have done something right. … I guess they liked what they did get to see from me [in camp]. I guess I could’ve showed more, but the fact that I’m here means, I guess, they believe in me. I’m glad to be here.”
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