Greg Olsen said he’s cleared from the protocol.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) December 16, 2019
Panthers tight end Greg Olsen told reporters today that he’s cleared the concussion protocol.
Olsen has sat out the last two games due to the injury he suffered when Washington linebacker Ryan Anderson gave him a direct head shot, which got him ejected from the game. Olsen appeared to be knocked out immediately from the blow and was quickly ruled out from returning. After missing a week of practice, Olsen was a limited participant last week. He says he could have been cleared earlier but the trainers were being cautious.
Ian Thomas had a mini-breakout game in Olsen’s absence against Atlanta, but he was not a factor in the loss to Seattle. After posting 57 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons, he managed just 23 on two catches Sunday. Thomas may yet develop into a true No. 1 tight end. He’s not there yet, though. That means the Panthers can ill afford to lose Olsen.
While there’s been a lot of speculation about a future in broadcasting, Olsen says he wants to come back and play in 2020.
Greg Olsen says it would be great if Panthers bring him back in 2020, but knows the decision will be made above him. He’s under contract for next year.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) December 16, 2019
Olsen is under contract but the Panthers are likely to undergo massive changes in the front office this coming offseason. Whoever the new people in charge are might want to move on and get younger at the position.
Losing Olsen would come at a cost though, and not just on the field. According to Over the Cap, cutting Olsen would save the team $8.1 million in cap room but come with $3.7 million in dead money.
It’s been three years now since the Panthers had a healthy Cam Newton and a healthy Olsen on the field for more than half a season together. They were one of the league’s most productive QB/TE combos, though. Between 2014-2016, Olsen averaged over 1,000 receiving yards and scored 16 total touchdowns.
Getting back to those levels is probably unrealistic at this point, but Olsen appears to have enough juice left to play for a couple more years.
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