4 offseason moves hurting the Panthers through Week 6

Not giving Greg Olsen one more year

Greg Olsen might be in the twilight of his career. But given what the Carolina Panthers have received from their tight end options following his departure, letting him go was a big mistake.

The coaching staff appeared confident in Ian Thomas’ ability to step up and become the No. 1 option in Olsen’s absence. But it already looks like this was a significant error in their judgment given what we’ve seen from the former Indiana standout so far.

Thomas has just six receptions from 11 targets for 39 receiving yards and one touchdown, which simply isn’t good enough. What is probably worse for the player is that he has been a relative afterthought in Joe Brady’s scheme, who has a tremendous amount of success utilizing tight ends during a historical campaign leading LSU’s passing attack to a National Championship in 2019.

Olsen is getting a deserved chance to end his career on a legitimate Super Bowl contender in the Seattle Seahawks and has provided some nice security for quarterback Russell Wilson to record 15 catches from 19 targets, 145 receiving yards, and a score.

How Teddy Bridgewater could use something like that right now.

To say his presence in Carolina is missed would be a massive understatement. And this is a problem that the front office needs to fix at the earliest possible opportunity.