Greg Olsen aloof capital some clarity, to apperceive area he stood with the Bears.
The 31st aces in the 2007 NFL draft, he had bigger his catches, yards
and touchdowns in anniversary of his aboriginal three seasons, and some
projected him as a blemish amateur in 2010.
Many speculated Olsen wouldn’t be an ideal fit
beneath fresh abhorrent coordinator Mike Martz, who commonly hadn’t
acclimated a bound end much. But anybody played nice through a 2010
division in which the Bears won the NFC North and accomplished the
appointment appellation game, alike admitting Olsen’s assembly
biconcave beyond the board.
Heading into the final year of his amateur
accord and slated to accomplish $900,000, Olsen bare to feel acceptable
about his future.
On Tuesday, Bears officials told his agent Drew
Rosenhaus that they needed a couple of days — based on all the chaos of
this shortened offseason — before they could discuss a possible
extension. Then, on Wednesday night, they informed Rosenhaus they were
looking to trade Olsen.
On Thursday, the Carolina Panthers traded a
third-round pick in the 2012 draft to the Bears for Olsen, then agreed
to terms with the tight end on a four-year extension worth about $24
million, including $10.5 million guaranteed. The Bears also released
Brandon Manumaleuna, whom they signed just last offseason to a
three-year, $15 million contract, and signed Matt Spaeth from the
Pittsburgh Steelers. Kellen Davis is the only 2010 holdover at tight
end.
Olsen has been stunned by it all.
‘‘It was not something that I expected,’’ he told
the Sun-Times. ‘‘Then things transpired really fast. But, in the end, I
think I’m going to a good place. There’s no doubt I’m going to miss my
teammates, and the city of Chicago has been awesome to me and my family.
‘‘But, the business side of it, this was something
that — I guess — was in the Bears’ best interests, and then once we
started down that road, there was no turning back.’’
Could he have played another down for the Bears if they hadn’t found a suitable trade partner?
‘‘We went through all that stuff last year, and I
was able to put it behind me and move forward,’’ he said. ‘‘Last year
wasn’t as serious. But this year was more open and official, that this
is what they wanted to do. It would be hard knowing that a team didn’t
want you two times, then playing through it again.’’
Olsen admitted his reduced role and opportunities last season bothered him.
‘‘There’s no worse feeling then not being able to
play up to your potential,’’ he said. ‘‘Last year, I felt like that was
the case.’’
Still, Olsen said he’ll be grateful for his time with the Bears.
‘‘I always had a tremendous amount of respect for
[coach] Lovie [Smith] and the Bears for selecting me with their first
pick [in 2007],” he said.
Olsen said he fit into the offense, and he
embraced Martz’s push for him to become a better blocker. And while he
got chances to make plays, ‘‘there were weeks on end where I did
nothing. I can’t say I never had a role, but it wasn’t consistent.’’
But Olsen is thrilled to be headed to Carolina,
where he’ll reunite with former Miami teammate Jon Beason and former
Miami offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski.
‘‘To get back with Coach Chud, and what he’s done
in the past, with tight ends, is going to be huge for my development,’’
Olsen said, ‘‘and I’m looking forward to it.’’
Chudzinski coached two of the game’s most talented tight ends, Kellen Winslow and Antonio Gates.
Asked about his role, Olsen said, ‘‘It’s hard to
say. But his track record of using guys is pretty clear, and that’s
encouraging. Now it falls on my shoulders on how I perform. To be
honest, I think it’s a way to finally get out of the restraints of what
our system was.’’
Still, he’ll never forget the last two days, when
he was holed up in a dorm room at Olivet Nazarene University in
Bourbonnais, waiting to hear about his future.
‘‘It was weird, because you’re sitting around your
dorm, with nothing to do,” he said. “But I’m glad I can move on and go
forward.’’
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