CHARLOTTE – On Monday, tight end Greg Olsen told reporters he's cleared the concussion protocol.
The veteran tight end missed the last two games after suffering a concussion against Washington.
Now there are two games left in the season. Two games that Olsen intends to be a part of.
"Two more games for the Panthers, one more home game to end the year. That's really all you are guaranteed at this point," Olsen said. "From that point forward is anybody's guess. My intent is to try to make the most of these last two games and try to go out with as positive an experience as I can if that is (my) last opportunity. A lot of that is out of my control."
This will be a big offseason of change for the Panthers. As we all know, major change has come already with head coach Ron Rivera moving on after nearly nine seasons.
Olsen has one more year on his contract, but he was honest about the fact that his future is unclear at the moment.
"No one ever gets to write their ending, write their final script," Olsen said. "You don't know what the future holds here. There has been a lot of change, a lot turnover. I told you guys on the day we found out about Ron, change sometimes leads to other change. It's hard to predict when and where that comes."
Olsen, a three-time Pro Bowler, believes this season has proven that his foot issues are behind him and that he remains an effective weapon for an offense. This season he became the fifth tight end in NFL history to surpass 8,000 career receiving yards and 700 catches.
"Can I play at a high level? Absolutely," said Olsen, who has 48 catches for 552 yards and two touchdowns on the season.
The 34-year-old has a career in broadcasting seemingly waiting for him. He also said he won't close the door on suiting up for another team.
But at this point, none of that is "real," as Olsen put it.
He knows he's got at least two more games in a Carolina uniform. And yeah, he'd love to have more.
"If the Panthers want to bring me back, that'd be great. Those things are yet to be determined on a lot of different levels, a lot higher up than me," Olsen said. "My main is focus is trying to finish this year as positive as can be given the circumstances both personally and collectively as a team. We'll go into the offseason and figure the rest out."
