Greg Olsen Would Have Considered Panthers Return
- When Greg Olsen was released by the Panthers, it was described as a mutual parting. However, the veteran tight end said he would have been open to returning to Carolina in 2020. “I told them all along that if they wanted me back…obviously I would have been back,” the veteran said (via WFNZ-AM/FM on Twitter). “The ‘mutual parting’ might have been a little overblown. The reality was…they weren’t going to bring me back…I understood it but I didn’t force my way out of here.”
Minor NFL Transactions: 2/4/20
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Re-signed: RB Reggie Bonnafon
Miami Dolphins
- Re-signed: WR Ricardo Louis
Panthers DE Wes Horton To Retire
Wes Horton will be the latest long-term Carolina cog to depart the team this offseason. The seven-year Panthers contributor announced (via Instagram) he will retire.
A Panthers defensive end for most of Ron Rivera‘s tenure, Horton cited myriad injuries as one of the reasons he will leave the game at age 30. Horton played in 83 games for the Panthers since the 2013 season.
“I’ve been back and forth on my future playing football, and after coming to a conclusion, I will be stepping away from the game of football,” Horton wrote. “The little injuries I’ve accumulated over the years have finally caught up to me, and when weighing the risk, I’d rather preserve what’s left of my body.”
While Horton’s retirement will not register on the same level Luke Kuechly‘s did, his reasons are similar. Horton bounced on and off Carolina’s roster in recent years. In the past three even years, Horton operated as a full- or part-time starter. He started 15 games in 2014, 10 in 2016 and eight in 2018. The former UDFA out of USC signed with the Panthers in October 2016 and this past November. Although Horton signed with the Saints earlier in 2019, he only saw action for the Panthers in his career.
Horton will finish his career with 15.5 sacks and seven forced fumbles. He announced he will return to his high school alma mater, Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) to coach the school’s defensive line.
Panthers Release Greg Olsen
Feb. 3: On the first day veterans can be released, the Panthers made this move official. For the first time since coming into the league in 2007, Olsen is a free agent.
Jan. 30: Greg Olsen has not decided on returning for a 14th season or beginning a full-time broadcasting career, but he will not be part of Matt Rhule‘s first Panthers team. Olsen and the Panthers confirmed as much Thursday afternoon.
After meeting with GM Marty Hurney, Olsen said (via Twitter) he will not be part of the 2020 Panthers. The team will move on from the former Pro Bowl tight end.
It does not sound like FOX is a lock to land Olsen, who has one season left on his Panthers contract. The soon-to-be 35-year-old veteran is interested in joining another team, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, who adds agent Drew Rosenhaus will be communicating with other teams after the Super Bowl (Twitter link).
“The team and I are both on the same page that it is best we go in different directions for now,” Olsen said. “At this time I have not closed the door on any potential career options. I still have the love of football in my heart and will explore all opportunities presented to me.”
Acquired in a trade from the Bears in 2011, the former first-round pick revitalized his career with Carolina. He made three Pro Bowls from 2014-16, serving as Cam Newton‘s top target in the immediate post-Steve Smith years. Olsen eclipsed 1,000 yards in each of those seasons but struggled with foot injuries from 2017-18. Olsen returned to play 14 games this past season, catching 52 passes for 597 yards for a Panthers team that struggled in the season’s second half and used three quarterbacks.
The Panthers releasing Olsen will free up $8.1MM in cap space, tagging the team with $3.7MM in dead money. Olsen hitting free agency would add a name to an already intriguing mix potentially set to hit the market. Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper and Eric Ebron are also free agents-to-be. And Jason Witten is now open to opportunities beyond Dallas. While Henry and Hooper are tag possibilities, this could be an interesting signing period for the tight end position.
For the Panthers, Olsen departing represents another major change for an organization that has gone through many in recent weeks. The Panthers fired Ron Rivera after eight-plus seasons, and Rhule brought in new coordinators Joe Brady and Phil Snow from the college ranks. Luke Kuechly surprised the football world by choosing to retire at 28. And Newton’s status is far from certain as he recovers from foot surgery.
2020 Draft Order
Super Bowl LIV is in the books, which means the order for the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft is set. By virtue of their 31-20 win Sunday night, the Chiefs will have the final pick in the first round. The 49ers dropping to 5-2 in Super Bowls will result in the NFC champions approaching the podium at No. 31.
Here is the full first-round order:
1. Bengals (2-14)
2. Redskins (3-13)
3. Lions (3-12-1)
4. Giants (4-12)
5 Dolphins (5-11)
6. Chargers (5-11)
7. Panthers (5-11)
8. Cardinals (5-10-1)
9. Jaguars (6-10)
10. Browns (6-10)
11. Jets (7-9)
12. Raiders (7-9)
13. Colts (7-9)
14. Buccaneers (7-9)
15. Broncos (7-9)
16. Falcons (7-9)
17. Cowboys (8-8)
18. Dolphins (via Steelers 8-8)
19. Raiders (via Bears 8-8)
20. Jaguars (via Rams 9-7)
21. Eagles (9-7)
22. Bills (10-6)
23. Patriots (12-4)
24. Saints (13-3)
25. Vikings (10-6)
26. Dolphins (via Texans 10-6)
27. Seahawks (11-5)
28. Ravens (14-2)
29. Titans (9-7)
30. Packers (13-3)
31. 49ers (13-3)
32. Chiefs (12-4)
Latest On Panthers, Cam Newton
Set to be without longtime cornerstones Luke Kuechly and Greg Olsen next season, the Panthers will soon need to make a decision on their quarterback. Some parts of that equation are forming.
Cam Newton is recovering from foot surgery and has yet to resume football activities. But the former MVP went through a meeting with Matt Rhule, David Tepper and GM Marty Hurney recently and “absolutely” expects to be a Panther next season, he said during an interview on CBS Sports’ Brandon Tierney and Tiki Barber (video link).
While Newton admitted he is disappointed by Ron Rivera being out of the picture but is moving forward with the new regime. One season, at an affordable $18.6MM salary, remains on Newton’s deal. The Panthers could save $19.1MM and potentially accelerate a rebuild by moving on from the 30-year-old passer, but they have not ruled out the prospect of allowing him to play out his contract. They were, however, non-committal about the injured quarterback last month.
The Panthers want to see Newton resume football work in March before making a decision, Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com report. Hurney and his new power structure partners would prefer to give Newton a shot and assess the situation at that point. Picking at No. 7, the Panthers are an unrealistic Joe Burrow destination. The Panthers are higher on potential 2021 early-first-round quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields than the non-Burrow 2020 quarterback contingent, per Fowler and Graziano. The Clemson and Ohio State passers, respectively, will generate immense buzz over the next year. It will almost certainly take premium draft position to land either.
Given the early developments in Carolina’s offseason, it would not be especially surprising to see the team trade Newton. However, the former Pro Bowler has a manageable salary thanks to his extension being signed back in 2015. Regardless, Newton represents a key domino in an offseason that will feature several significant quarterback decisions.
Panthers Add Several To Coaching Staff
As could be expected given Matt Rhule‘s hiring, the 2020 Panthers will feature a heavy Baylor feel on their coaching staff. In addition to Rhule and defensive coordinator Phil Snow, several more Baylor assistants will make the jump to the pros.
The Panthers announced additional hires to their staff Friday. Among them are assistant head coach Jeff Nixon, wide receivers coach Frisman Jackson, tight ends coach Brian Angelichio, assistant offensive line coach Marcus Satterfield, assistant D-line coach Frank Okam, cornerbacks coach Evan Cooper and assistant special teams coach Ed Foley.
Nixon and Jackson played key roles under Rhule at Baylor, but both are ex-NFL assistants. Nixon, who will coach Carolina’s running backs, led the Dolphins’ running backs for five years before working on Chip Kelly‘s 49ers staff in 2016. He was Rhule’s co-offensive coordinator at Baylor from 2017-19. Most of Jackson’s work has come at the college level, but he spent 2017 as the Titans’ wideouts coach.
Angelichio has more experience at the NFL level, coaching tight ends previously for the Redskins in 2019. Instead of working for former Panthers coach Ron Rivera, he will trek to Charlotte for a role with Rivera’s old team. Previously, Angelichio was tight ends coach with the Buccaneers, Browns and Packers since 2012.
Rhule’s former Temple OC, Satterfield was Baylor’s tight ends coach last season. He is an NFL first-timer. A former NFL lineman, Okam is as well. He spent the past two seasons as Baylor’s assistant D-line coach. Also set to become an NFL rookie staffer, Cooper will move from Baylor’s assistant cornerbacks coach to running that position in Carolina. On Rhule’s Temple and Baylor staffs, Foley headed up the Owls’ special teams and was their interim HC after Rhule took the Baylor job. He is also set for his first NFL coaching gig.
The Panthers also hired E.J. Barthel, Grant Udinksi and Cedric Whitaker as coaching assistants. Barthel and Whitaker will make major jumps to the NFL after respectively spending 2019 at Houston Baptist and William & Mary, respectively. Udinski will make the Baylor-to-Carolina transition.
NFC Coaching Turner, Peetz, Linguist, Harris,Whitted
Norv Turner will not be returning to the Panthers coaching staff, according to Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic. Turner had served as a special assistant to former Panthers head coach Ron Rivera. Rivera, of course, was recently replaced by Matt Rhule and has since taken over in Washington. While nothing has been reported, it would not be a surprise to see Turner follow Rivera to the nation’s capital to work with young quarterback Dwayne Haskins.
At the same time, Carolina blocked running backs coach Jake Peetz from interviewing for other positions, per Albert Breer of SI.com. Breer adds that Rivera wanted to take Peetz with him, but Carolina general manager Marty Hurney valued Peetz and the team decided to reward him with a promotion to quarterbacks coach.
Here’s some more notes from coaching staff’s around the NFC:
- The Cowboys hired Texas A&M cornerbacks coach Maurice Linguist to serve as the team’s defensive backs coach alongside Al Harris. Linguist did not have a history with either head coach Mike McCarthy or defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, but his personality impressed the pair so much that they offered him the job on the same day of his interview, according to Dallas Cowboys reporter Lindsay Cash Draper. Harris had been an assistant with Kansas City, but more notably, played under McCarthy during his tenure in Green Bay at cornerback.
- Harris’ former team will be making a change at wide receivers coach. According Rob Demovsky of ESPN, the Packers have let Alvis Whitted go and have begun the process of searching for his replacement. Whitted was hired just a year ago to join Matt LaFleur’s staff, but it appears LaFleur will be going in a different direction.
Phil Snow Discusses Rhule Relationship
- After spending the past three seasons as the defensive coordinator at Baylor, Phil Snow recently joined the Panthers in the same position. The veteran coach spoke with media members yesterday, and he discussed the role that new Panthers head coach (and former Baylor head coach) Matt Rhule played in his hiring. “Well, I’ve known Coach Rhule since 2001, and our roles have completely changed,” Snow said (via the team’s website). “He was my graduate assistant when I was a defensive coordinator at UCLA, and now I’m working for him. We’ve got great respect for each other, he’s really a good football man, really a good head football coach. Players like him, he gets to know them, but we’ve just had a great relationship. When he took the Carolina job, he asked me if I’d come as a coordinator and I said yes, so here we are.”
FOX Interested In Panthers’ Greg Olsen
In 2018, Greg Olsen flirted with retirement and the possibility of moving to a job in broadcasting. This year, the Panthers tight end will have similar options to consider. If Olsen wants a career in TV, FOX Sports executives will offer him a position as an analyst, Richard Deitsch of The Athletic tweets.
Two years ago, Olsen had ESPN and FOX hot on his trail. Ultimately, he turned down opportunities to do color commentary on Monday Night Football (that job went to Jason Witten, before he returned to the field) and a gig with FOX’s Thursday Night Football. Instead, he signed an extension with the Panthers – that deal is set to take him through the 2020 season.
This time around, Olsen may consider a third option – moving on to a new team. Olsen says he doesn’t want to be part of a rebuilding effort and, clearly, that’s what will take place in Carolina.
“I just think sometimes the writing’s on the wall,” Olsen said in December. “There hasn’t been anything officially. But I wanted to make sure if that was my last time that I made sure I told the people that I needed to how much they meant on my career.”
Olsen is set to count for a $11.8MM cap figure, but the Panthers can save $8.1MM by releasing him against just $3.7MM in dead money. He may also hold some trade value, though it’s unlikely that he’d net the Panthers a large return as he nears his 35th birthday in March.
Olsen, a first round pick in the 2007 draft, finished the season with 52 catches for 597 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games. His last 16-game season came in 2016, when he tallied 1,000 receiving yards for the third straight year.