Greg Olsen has been a fantastic tight end for the Carolina Panthers for many years, and he has ensured that the team always has some sort of offensive weapon. There are many players that have come and gone since Olsen got there, and he has been adamant that he wants to be paid as one of the best tight ends in the league. Players such as Rob Gronkowski make $9 million a year, and he got the compensation that he knew he deserved. The Panthers have a new GM, and he has likely ingratiated himself to the team by taking care of Olsen.
The team needs him
The Panthers need Olsen out on the wing where Cam Newton can reach him. Newton has a tendency to run, and he does not have to run as much if Olsen is right there to pass to. There are a lot of situations in which Olsen gives the team their best chance of succeeding. They will produce much more offense in short bursts and giving Olsen security through incentives ensure that he will be motivated.
Carolina must play for now
The Panthers must do more to get even close to the top of the NFC South this season. They are in a position where they must maximize the time that they have with Cam Newton before he gets too injured to be effective. He is not a player who will go until he is 40 because he will have taken too many hits by then.
In that sense, he is much like a taller michael vick, and you see how much taller Newton is. Michael Vick is pitching flag football to the public. How much longer before Newton is pitching flag football to little kids?
The Panthers only have so long
The window to get back to the Super Bowl and win it is closing for the Panthers.
They cannot go on for much longer until they have to fire Ron Rivera, and they will start over with a new coach who is happy to work with a much older Cam Newton. They will take questions at every press conference about Cam's time will be managed, and they will be asked over and over how many times he will be allowed to run outside the pocket.
There are many different people who will come up with theories about how to use Cam in his old age, and this writer will be one of them. I am terribly interested in how they will manage Newton to avoid as many injuries as possible.
They have many obstacles
Getting past the Falcons and the Bucs this season could be a disaster for the Panthers because they are so much less talented than those other teams. They somehow ended up in a talent gulf where they are paying Greg Olsen incentives because they need that safety net.
