By Jordan Long
The Carolina Panthers decided to let go of tight end Greg Olsen after 9 seasons. This will save the Panthers about $3.7 million in dead cap space for 2020. Olsen isn’t ready to call it quits from the NFL just yet. He is going to meet with the Buffalo Bills, Washington Redskins, and Seattle Seahawks. There is one team he is hoping to go to, the Chicago Bears.
Olsen was originally drafted by the Bears 31st overall in the 2007 NFL draft. He spent 4 years in Chicago establishing himself in the NFL. In those seasons, Olsen caught 194 passes for 1,981 yards and 20 touchdowns in the Windy City. The Bears went to the postseason with him once, 2010. They advanced to the NFC Conference Championship game where they lost to the Green Bay Packers. In the playoff run, Olsen totaled 143 receiving yards and 1 touchdown.
Olsen then went to Carolina where he was an even better catching tight end. He was with the Panthers from 2011 to 2019. During his time with the Panthers, Olsen had 6,463 receiving yards and 39 touchdowns. The Panthers went to the playoffs 4 times with him and advanced to Super Bowl 50 where they were beaten by the Denver Broncos 24-10.
Carolina wanted what was best for the team. Letting Olsen go gives the Panthers a chance to increase their cap space and use more money to sign free agents
Olsen would love to go back to Chicago but they have not called yet. According to CBSsports.com, Olsen said, “I’ll be honest, in my heart I was hoping they would have been one of the first calls. To my knowledge we have not heard from them. Whether or not they do or not is hard to say.”
The Bears may not need Olsen. They have 6 tight ends under contract for 2020, Trey Burton, Adam Shaheen, Ben Braunecker, Eric Saubert, Darion Clark, and Dax Raymond. Burton and Shaheen were the top two tight ends on the team. They didn’t do much this past year. Burton had 84 receiving yards but didn’t record a touchdown. Shaheen wasn’t much better with 74 yards. Even though these are not the greatest stats, they still have depth at the position.
Olsen might need to sign with another team. The Bears aren’t interested yet and they may not be. Out of the 3 that have shown interest in him, the Seahawks make the most sense. Seattle is ready to make a playoff push in 2020 and Olsen may be the tight end to help them win the Super Bowl for the first time since Super Bowl 48. Then again it is early in the process. Olsen may generate more interest from other franchises.
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