Greg Olsen wows Seahawks with grit returning from major injury when he could’ve eased away
Greg Olsen could have packed it in. Called it a career.
Less than a month ago he completely tore the plantar fascia, the thick band of tissue connecting his heel to the ball of his foot. He couldn’t walk; he needed a cart to exit the field. His second major injury in three seasons made it appear his splendid career was over.
And why not?
He’s 35 years old. It’s the middle of a pandemic. His new team with which he signed this year has but a few games remaining in the season, even if they are in the playoffs. The former Pro Bowl and Super Bowl tight end has earned $70 million in his career. His $5.5 million the Seahawks guaranteed him on a one-year contract had already cashed. He has more millions waiting for him with his Fox television football-analyst gig, a deal he’s already signed for whenever he feels like retiring.
While he’s been on Seattle’s injured-reserve list the last month, he and his wife Kara opened The HEARTest Yard Congenital Heart Center at Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, N.C.
You get the drift: Olsen doesn’t exactly need football.
Yet here he is, back on the practice field this week. As he vowed he would, Olsen busted it back from his torn foot tissue and not being able to walk to rejoin the Seahawks for their playoff push.
”He’s the real deal,” coach Pete Carroll said Wednesday.
He shook his head to marvel at Olsen, hours after the team designated him as returning from injured reserve.
Carroll coyly said “it’s possible” Olsen plays Sunday, when the Seahawks (9-4) can clinch a playoff berth with a win at Washington (6-7).
“He’s made an extraordinary recovery, to get to this right now,” Carroll said. “So we are going to practice him and see what happens.
“He’s such a great football player. He loves the game so much. ...I mean, there is NO space other than he is at the top of the list in all of the character principles about who he is and what he is all about and what you can expect from him.
“He is amazing.
“I don’t even know how he got well this fast. I haven’t a clue how that happened. But, he did.”
The 69-year-old coach chuckled.
“I mean, he’s dying to play RIGHT NOW,” Carroll said. “You know, he just wants to get out there.
“He’s a perfect competitor to have on your club.”
Olsen has played in 207 games over his 14 years. He been selected to three Pro Bowls and has played in a Super Bowl—Super Bowl 50, for Carolina at the end of the 2015 season.
After a decade with the Panthers, he signed a $7 million, one-year contract in January to be Seattle’s number-one tight end.
He has 23 catches for 224 yards for the Seahawks. He has been particularly valuable for quarterback Russell Wilson on third downs. Fifteen of Olsen’s 23 receptions for this season has been for first downs.
His only touchdown came in Seattle’s opening game, its win at Atlanta in early September. The next week, in the Seahawks’ home win over New England, Olsen allowed an accurate pass from Wilson go off him into the arms of a defender for a Patriots interception and return for a touchdown. That was one of his two dropped passes in 35 targets this season.
He spent the minimum time on injured reserve, missing three games.
That return time didn’t seem realistic the night he could barely walk. He was taken from the field in a cart during the Seahawks’ home win over Arizona Nov. 19.
But Carroll said the next day the fact Olsen completely tore the thick band of tissue on the bottom of the foot that connects the heel and toes made Seahawks doctors hopeful the tight end could return sooner than if he had plantar fasciitis. That’s the long-lasting inflammation and searing pain in that ligament.
Olsen is well on his way to fulfilling that hope.
“The biggest thing that he’s shown us is how to be a professional,” Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner said.
And Wagner’s an All-Pro.
“He comes out here, warms up and gets his body right, before every practice,” Wagner said. “Just that level of detail, level of focus. He comes out and catches balls before he goes out. It’s something that the younger guys can look to see, this is what a professional looks like.
“But also guys like myself, to see a guy, 35, these are the types of things that he does to keep his body right so he can perform at a high level.
“Definitely, it’s inspiring, for sure. Anybody could just—he’s had a great career, 14 years—anybody could just walk away and say, ‘I’ve accomplished what I needed to accomplish.’ But to see him fight back to try to get out here and do it right, I think it’s definitely impressive.”
