Panthers tight end Greg Olsen has already indicated his desire for a new contract, and during today’s appearance on Adam Schefter’s Know Them From Adam podcast, Olsen didn’t rule out the idea of skipping training camp in an effort to land a reworked deal.
“I think it’s early right now,” Olsen said regarding a training camp holdout. “As the summer goes on and we get some feedback from the organization on how they feel, we’ll make the best decision we can. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that we feel very strongly about where we should be in that totem pole of top tight ends. I’d be hard pressed to find anybody who could make a reasonable argument to the contrary.
“This is not a negative environment,” Olsen added. “I’ve gone to all the OTAs, to all the minicamps. This is not by any means a toxic environment or a situation where the two sides seem fighting or anything like that. Has nothing to do with that. It’s just strictly, business should reflect productivity, in our opinion.”
Olsen, 32, agreed to a three-year, $22.5MM extension prior to the 2015 campaign, and since that time has continued to produce as one of the NFL’s best tight ends. During that two-year span, Olsen has ranked first among tight ends in receiving yards and approximate value while finishing a close second in receptions. He’s topped 1,000 yards receiving in each of the past two years, and has maintained his status as the most reliable weapon in Carolina’s offense.
Olsen’s $7.5MM annual average salary currently places him seventh among tight ends, just behind the likes of Charles Clay and Zach Ertz, while the Seahawks’ Jimmy Graham leads the way at $10MM/year. Olsen is scheduled to earn base salaries of $6.5MM from 2017-18 while counting for $10.35MM and $9.75MM on the Panthers’ salary cap in those respective ye
pay the man
1,000 receiving in three straight seasons.*
First TE to do that.