The Buffalo Bills got the first crack at former Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen but it appears he is moving on to other visits. Adam Schefter of ESPN reports Olsen’s trip to Buffalo is over and he’s on his way to the nation’s capital.
Olsen was a member of the Panthers while current Bills general manager Brandon Beane was in the personnel department in Carolina. Head coach Sean McDermott was the defensive coordinator in Carolina at the same time, as well. Bills’ QB coach Ken Dorsey is also a friend of Olsen’s after the two were together with Carolina. Bills’ tight ends coach Rob Boras held the same job with the Chicago Bears when Olsen was with that organization. There are obviously a lot of connections.
Olsen’s former head coach Ron Rivera is in Washington as the new coach of their NFL franchise and that’s where the tight end is heading on the second leg of his tour. After that he has plans to visit the Seattle Seahawks. Olsen also has a standing offer from FOX to be a game analyst if he chooses to retire.
Olsen, 34, spent nine seasons playing for the Panthers, before the two sides split following the 2019 season. He’s been one of the league’s best all-around tight ends for his whole career, with 718 receptions for 8,444 yards and 59 touchdowns plus a strong reputation for blocking prowess. A broken foot severely hampered Olsen during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, but he returned in 2019 and managed a respectable 52/597/2 receiving slash.
The Bills overhauled their tight end room a year ago, bringing in free agents Lee Smith and Tyler Kroft while drafting Dawson Knox and Tommy Sweeney. Olsen would likely replace Kroft in the room and add a well-respected veteran presence in the wake of departures from Frank Gore and Lorenzo Alexander.
Now we wait to see what’s going to happen.