Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll can tend to be a bit optimistic when it comes to the recovery timeline of his players. But with that in mind, it was still notable when Carroll said Monday that tight end Greg Olsen could return to practice as soon as this week.
“He’s challenging right now to practice this week,” Carroll said. “And so we’ll see what that means. He’s very, very positive and upbeat about the fact that he has a chance to get back here very soon, maybe this week or next week. I don’t know what to tell you until we see him.”
Olsen ruptured the plantar fascia in his left foot in Seattle’s Thursday night victory over the Arizona Cardinals three weeks ago. The initial timeline given after the injury was a four-to-six week time frame for Olsen to be able to return to action. Olsen was placed on injured reserve and is eligible to return having spent at least three weeks on the injured list. Olsen dealt with the same injury in his right foot two years ago with the Carolina Panthers.
Olsen vowed to make it back for the Seahawks in what could ultimately serve as his final season in the NFL. Olsen will turn 36 years old in March and is in his 14th season in the league after stops in Chicago and Carolina. Olsen has 23 catches for 224 yards and a touchdown in 10 games for the Seahawks this season.
The Seahawks don’t have to rush his return as they have three healthy options on the roster in Will Dissly, Jacob Hollister and rookie Colby Parkinson.
“I think our guys have done all right,” Carroll said. “They’ve held it together. If we’d had a drop off or something I think we could have understood it but the guys held up well and Colby has jumped in and done some nice things and he’s learning how to play the game and finally caught a couple balls and all that. It’s a good solid spot and I think our play in in the last couple weeks showed that.”
Olsen is one of a handful of players set to return to the roster in the coming weeks for Seattle including wide receiver Josh Gordon (suspension), running back Rashaad Penny (knee/physically unable to perform), cornerback Quinton Dunbar (knee/injured reserve), cornerback Tre Flowers (knee/injured reserve) and defensive end Damontre Moore (suspension).