The Panthers have had to play without tight end Greg Olsen for most of the season and they had to do so again on Sunday despite Olsen’s presence in the lineup when the game got underway.
Olsen returned from injured reserve this week after missing eight games with a broken foot, but he left the 35-27 win over the Jets in the first half and did not return. The team called it a foot injury during the game and Olsen said afterwards that the move was a precautionary one because the foot was sore in his first game action since September.
“We just thought it would be best not to go crazy out there and live to play another day,” Olsen said, via David Newton of ESPN.com.
Linebacker Thomas Davis also missed time during the win due to a leg injury and said after the game, via Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer, that he thinks he’ll be able to play next week.
The Panthers will want to have both players on hand as they’ll be facing the Saints in New Orleans next weekend in a game that will give the winner a leg up in a tight NFC South race that also includes the Falcons.