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Seahawks add Olsen

Veteran tight end agrees to one-year deal

The Seahawks have signed Greg Olsen to a one-year deal worth $7 million, outbidding Washington and Buffalo. Olsen will be 35 next month; what exactly are they getting?

Olsen has a distinguished overall body of work – the first tight end in league history to go over 1,000 yards three years in a row. (Travis Kelce has now topped that, with four straight.)

Entering 2017, Olsen had finished between 5th and 8th in per-game tight end scoring (PPR) five years in a row.

But Olsen missed about half of the 2017 and 2018 seasons with foot injuries. He was able to stay mostly healthy last year (missing two games following a concussion) but the team around him fell apart. Olsen wasn’t much of a factor outside of three good games. He caught 6 passes for 110 yards against Tampa Bay, 8 passes for 98 yards at Green Bay, and 6 passes for 75 yards and 2 TDs against an Arizona defense that really struggled against tight ends. Those were the only touchdowns Olsen caught all year.

Olsen has finished 15th and 14th in per-game tight end production the last two years, and was well off that clip in 2017. (In the chart below, the rank shows how Olsen compared against other tight ends starting at least half the season, so no ranking for 2017, when he played only seven games.)

OLSEN: PER-GAME PRODUCTION
YearTeamStNoYardsTDPPRRk
2007Chicago142.827.9.176.619
2008Chicago163.435.9.318.811
2009Chicago163.838.3.5010.614
2010Chicago162.625.3.317.026
2011Chicago162.833.8.338.219
2012Carolina164.352.7.3111.58
2013Carolina164.651.0.3811.97
2014Carolina165.363.0.3813.85
2015Carolina164.869.0.4414.36
2016Carolina165.067.1.2113.05
2017Carolina72.427.3.146.0--
2018Carolina93.032.3.448.915
2019Carolina143.742.6.148.814

The Seahawks apparently believe Olsen has another good season left, because they signed him to a one-year deal worth $7 million. Probably only about a dozen tight ends will make more money in the upcoming season.

Seattle has some other options at tight end. Will Dissly was playing well last season before suffering an Achilles injury. They’ll likely re-sign Jacob Hollister, who filled in reasonably well in the second half of the season.

History shows that it’s rare to get big numbers out of old tight ends. In the last 20 years, only 11 tight ends who were at least 35 years old finished with top-15 numbers. That’s not per-game numbers, but overall. Only six others who were 34 at the end of the season finished with top-15 production.

OLDER TIGHT ENDS (last 20 years)
YearPlayerAgeNoYdsTDPPRRk
2012Tony Gonzalez, Atl.36939308234.02
2014Antonio Gates, S.D.346982112223.13
2013Tony Gonzalez, Atl.37838598218.92
2011Tony Gonzalez, Atl.35808757209.54
2015Benjamin Watson, N.O.35748256192.57
2003Shannon Sharpe, Den.35627708187.02
2010Tony Gonzalez, Atl.34706566171.66
2016Jason Witten, Dall.34696733154.311
2016Antonio Gates, S.D.36535487149.812
2017Jason Witten, Dall.35635605149.09
2015Antonio Gates, S.D.35566305149.012
2002Shannon Sharpe, Den.34616863147.64
2019Jason Witten, Dall.37635294141.911
2017Benjamin Watson, Balt.37615224137.211
2019Greg Olsen, Car.34525972123.713
2001Wesley Walls, Car.35434525118.211
2000Wesley Walls, Car.3431422285.214

It’s early, but I don’t believe Olsen will be among the top-10 tight ends on my board in August. But probably top 15. He should be their primary tight end, and he’ll probably be a viable part of their red-zone offense. Russell Wilson lobbied for the Olsen signing, and he threw 7 TDs last year to Dissly and Hollister.

—Ian Allan

10 Reader Comments:

Andy Richardson

Port Chester, NY
2020-02-19T20:00:24Z
Seahawks seem to be one of the kings of blocking young players to sign old veterans.

Richard Loppnow

Ephrata, WA
2020-02-19T22:04:27Z
They are, Andy, but it's a player thing, too. Being blind to their own aging, they can't see that of players around them, either. Russell is still seeing the Greg Olsen of 5 years ago.

Aaron Rodgers loved it when Green Bay signed Jimmy Graham 2 years back. As if he hadn't seen a snap of Graham's Seattle tenure, and I suspect he just about didn't. Best historical all sports one was back when Michael Jordan was livid with the Bulls because they wouldn't package young Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant together in order to bring in Walter Davis. Who had already begun fading.

Paul Desimone

Hayward, CA
2020-02-19T23:16:33Z
They already had a goal-line-dump-it guy in Dissly. $7M. Mystifying.

Drew Paterson

Ferndale, WA
2020-02-19T23:43:16Z
Olsen's considered a good blocking TE, is he not, and a solid locker room guy? I tend to think those factors mean just as much as his down-field receiving ability given the Seahawk's run-first offense and Wilson's scrambling ability. If needed, I also think he would be willing to share work with Dissly or Hollister. Being more of an east-coast guy, I just wonder whether his family will move out here or he'll choose to live out of a suitcase during the season. If he can stay healthy, however, the local fan-base will embrace him.

Bob McKinlay

Casselberry, FL
2020-02-20T00:04:15Z
Alo



Could be thinking of Olsen to take a fling at a super bowl opportunity. There are some young starters on the offense, Carson, Metcalf, and Lockett. A good call by Seahawks to get an experienced veteran who gives his all

Ian Allan

Seattle, WA
2020-02-20T00:27:03Z
Report today indicates that the Seahawks believe that Dissly (Achilles) will be ready for Week 1. At least that's what they're saying. If they're confidence that Dissly will be healthy, I guess they don't like Hollister that much. I thought Hollister was pretty good -- 31 catches and 3 TDs in the second half of the season.

Bob McKinlay

Casselberry, FL
2020-02-20T17:59:22Z
Dissly has been hurt two years in a row. Always good to have depth at TE. I used Hollister as back up Kittle. He played well in second half as you said Ian. Don't know with 3 potential TE1s if any will have dominant numbers.

Andy Richardson

Port Chester, NY
2020-02-20T18:52:05Z
Olsen is gonna play pretty close to full time. I don’t think the others are draftable except in dynasty or late-round best-ball fliers. Seattle's confidence in Dissly is pretty empty, 7 months before the season.

JEFF ZWIERS

Bellingham, WA
2020-02-22T09:45:24Z
This does seem odd - $7 Mil. for a TE is a lot and Dissly looked very impressive all the games he played - and is scheduled to come back by week 1? Very odd to me....

Andy Richardson

Port Chester, NY
2020-02-22T17:33:30Z
Seattle saying Dissly will be ready for Week 1 is meaningless. If asked the question, what are they going to say: "We don't think he'll be ready to play 7 months from now"? They're typically optimistic with injuries. Olsen has been a great tight end, albeit long in the tooth, while Dissly has suffered major injuries two years in a row. It's not surprising they view Olsen as a worthwhile investment -- just disappointing for dynasty owners with Dissly or Hollister, whose path to significance just ran into a major obstacle.
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