It’s an NFC South showdown, and one of the best players for the Panthers won’t be on the field, again.
Tight end Greg Olsen isn’t expected to play on Sunday against the Saints, according to NFL Media. His absence comes a week after he returned to action following an extended absence in the aftermath of a Week Two broken foot.
Olsen’s status currently is characterized as short-term, and the injury as not structural. Which, of course, serves only to extend the confusion that emerged last week, when Olsen’s return to action was cut short by a claim that he was removed from the game against the Jets as a precaution -- but then he had X-rays and other tests on the foot.
And so now the absence is being called short-term in nature. At this point, however, no one really seems to know whether it will be short-term or long-term or, perhaps more importantly, whether he’ll be able to play for a full game and/or consecutive weeks once he again returns.
The Panthers have thrived without Olsen, but they surely will be even better on offense once he’s back, and able to stay.