There are no slam-dunk tight ends this year. Rob Gronkowski, Jordan Reed and Tyler Eifert have put up some great stats, but all have been plagued by injuries. Greg Olsen, Travis Kelce and Zach Ertz catch plenty of passes but haven’t been great scorers.
In the case of Olsen, he’s also not happy with his contract. He might be a hold out.
As explained by Joseph Person of The Charlotte Observor Olsen signed a three-year extension worth $22.5 million prior to the 2015 season, but he’s outperformed that contract. He’s gone over 1,000 yards three years in a row – something that’s never been done before in league history.
Eleven other tight ends have contracts averaging at least $7 million per year, and Olsen looks a lot better than about half of those guys.
| TIGHT ENDS MAKING $4+ MILLION | |
|---|---|
| Player | Avg |
| Jimmy Graham, Sea. | $10.0 |
| Travis Kelce, K.C. | $9.4 |
| Jordan Reed, Wash. | $9.4 |
| Rob Gronkowski, N.E. | $9.0 |
| Zach Ertz, Phil. | $8.5 |
| Charles Clay, Buff. | $7.6 |
| Greg Olsen, Car. | $7.5 |
| Dwayne Allen, N.E. | $7.4 |
| Kyle Rudolph, Minn. | $7.3 |
| Coby Fleener, N.O. | $7.2 |
| Jermaine Gresham, Ariz. | $7.0 |
| Martellus Bennett, G.B. | $7.0 |
| Delanie Walker, Tenn. | $6.7 |
| Jason Witten, Dall. | $6.5 |
| Vance McDonald, S.F. | $6.5 |
| Jack Doyle, Ind. | $6.3 |
| Julius Thomas, Mia. | $6.1 |
| Dion Sims, Chi. | $6.0 |
| Antonio Gates, S.D. | $5.5 |
| Jared Cook, Oak. | $5.3 |
| Vernon Davis, Wash. | $5.0 |
| Rhett Ellison, NYG | $4.5 |
| Levine Toilolo, Atl. | $4.0 |
| Marcedes Lewis, Jac. | $4.0 |
SOURCE: OverTheCap.com
Olsen is 32, so he’s at a key point in his career – maybe his last chance to land a really substantial contract. If he puts things off, his perceived value could be dramatically lower next year. He’ll be 33, and he might be coming off a so-so season.
Add in the dynamic of the Panthers having just fired GM Dave Gettleman. He was a hard-liner who wasn’t afraid to say no to players. He pulled the franchise tag off Josh Norman, causing him to leave. He got rid of Steve Smith and DeAngelo Williams. And he declined to give Thomas Davis a new contract after the 2015 season. Davis is a team leader who played with a broken arm in Super Bowl 50, but Gettleman didn’t want to overspend on a 33-year-old linebacker who’s undergone three ACL surgeries.
The first order of business for the new GM will be deciding whether to give Olsen a new contract. The Panthers are trying to re-work their offense, with more short passing, but they don’t have many established pass catchers. They draft Christian McCaffrey and Curtis Samuel, but they’ll need to be worked in. Kelvin Benjamin was overweight at the team workouts in June. They don’t have much else at wide receiver – Devin Funchess hasn’t done much in his first two years, and Philly Brown and Ted Ginn are both gone.
The Panthers don’t have any other pass-catching tight ends, so I’m guessing they’ll throw some money at Olsen and get him into camp.
Five years in a row, Olsen has accounted for at least 24 percent of Carolina’s catches. In the last five years, only two other tight ends have caught 24 percent of their team’s passes in a season.
| TIGHT ENDS WITH 20% OF TEAM'S CATCHES (2012-) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Rec | Team | Pct |
| 2015 | Delanie Walker, Tenn. | 94 | 342 | 27.5% |
| 2016 | Greg Olsen, Car. | 80 | 306 | 26.1% |
| 2014 | Greg Olsen, Car. | 84 | 327 | 25.7% |
| 2015 | Greg Olsen, Car. | 77 | 300 | 25.7% |
| 2012 | Jason Witten, Dall. | 110 | 434 | 25.3% |
| 2013 | Greg Olsen, Car. | 73 | 292 | 25.0% |
| 2012 | Greg Olsen, Car. | 69 | 284 | 24.3% |
| 2016 | Travis Kelce, K.C. | 85 | 365 | 23.3% |
| 2015 | Travis Kelce, K.C. | 72 | 310 | 23.2% |
| 2015 | Jason Witten, Dall. | 77 | 334 | 23.1% |
| 2014 | Martellus Bennett, Chi. | 90 | 396 | 22.7% |
| 2015 | Jordan Reed, Wash. | 87 | 386 | 22.5% |
| 2012 | Tony Gonzalez, Atl. | 93 | 422 | 22.0% |
| 2013 | Vernon Davis, S.F. | 52 | 244 | 21.3% |
| 2015 | Gary Barnidge, Clev. | 79 | 371 | 21.3% |
| 2016 | Jason Witten, Dall. | 69 | 325 | 21.2% |
| 2016 | Delanie Walker, Tenn. | 65 | 307 | 21.2% |
| 2013 | Jordan Cameron, Clev. | 80 | 379 | 21.1% |
| 2014 | Delanie Walker, Tenn. | 63 | 299 | 21.1% |
| 2012 | Brandon Myers, Oak. | 79 | 376 | 21.0% |
| 2014 | Travis Kelce, K.C. | 67 | 320 | 20.9% |
| 2014 | Rob Gronkowski, N.E. | 82 | 392 | 20.9% |
| 2016 | Zach Ertz, Phil. | 78 | 380 | 20.5% |
| 2013 | Antonio Gates, S.D. | 77 | 378 | 20.4% |
| 2012 | Jimmy Graham, N.O. | 85 | 423 | 20.1% |
| 2012 | Heath Miller, Pitt. | 71 | 354 | 20.1% |
| 2016 | Kyle Rudolph, Minn. | 83 | 414 | 20.0% |
—Ian Allan