Gunner Olszewski


Kaleb Gunner Olszewski is an American football wide receiver and punt returner for the New England Patriots. He played college football at Bemidji State as a cornerback.

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. 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. 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.

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, and the New England Patriots, who used him at wide receiver. 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. The three-year deal had a $2,500 signing bonus.
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.
He made his NFL debut in the Patriots' 33–3 Week 1 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers, returning two punts for 35 yards. 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. He was placed on injured reserve on November 19, 2019 with ankle and hamstring injuries.