Carolina Panthers: Greg Olsen injury adds salt to wound in loss
Losing the game was not the only blow to the Carolina Panthers day.
You hate to see anything bad happen to a player injury-wise in the National Football League. When a player as steadfast and consistent as Greg Olsen gets hurt, the injury seems even worse. After rarely missing a game over the course of his career, the last couple of seasons have not been kind on the veteran. After suffering through injuries last season, the injury bug reared its ugly head once again on Sunday.
This injury was totally avoidable and was the result of a vicious hit. Olsen was running towards the first-down marker and was hit by Washington linebacker Ryan Anderson. As result of the hit, Olsen suffered a concussion. He fumbled the football, but who could blame him? It looked as though he got knocked out on the hit. As soon as the contact was made, Olsen crumpled to the ground.
Per a tweet from David Newton of ESPN, Olsen was feeling better when head coach Ron Rivera spoke to his tight end. However, the Miami product remains in concussion protocol. That piece of news is certainly encouraging. The fact that Olsen has suffered his fair share of injuries over the course of the past couple of years is not encouraging. You would think that this injury may mean the end of Olsen’s 2019 season. Why would he risk further injury?
Olsen finishes the 2019 season with 45 receptions for 530 yards and two touchdowns. Those statistics are definitely low, but that’s not his fault. He was very underutilized this year, and the tight end position on a whole did not see many balls thrown its way. Kyle Allen loved DJ Moore and Curtis Samuel, and who can blame him? However, it was still tough to see the tight end position remain left out of the equation.
Ron RIvera says Greg Olsen was feeling better when he talked to him but remains in the protocol.
— David Newton (@DNewtonespn) December 1, 2019
Whether or not Olsen will come back to the Carolina Panthers in 2020 is certainly an interesting storyline. This offseason is going to be pivotal for the Carolina Panthers organization. Changes are definitely going to be made, of what magnitude I do not know. However, what the organization does with Cam Newton, Ron Rivera, and others could shape Olsen’s decision to come back. For now, all Olsen needs to worry about is getting healed up . It’s sad that this keeps happening to a player who wants to play football and plays hard every single snap. Hopefully, everything will work out for Olsen moving forward.