The Chicago Bears need a tight end. Greg Olsen is a free agent. It's a match made in heaven.
The Bears were one of the most disappointing teams in the NFL this past season, largely due to their offensive ineptitude. While tight end was far from their only problem, it was certainly a pretty significant one, as Trey Burton logged just 14 catches in the second year of what originally appeared to be a promising contract.
Olsen was cut by the Carolina Panthers earlier this week after a solid 2019 campaign in which he caught 52 passes for 597 yards and a couple of touchdowns.
No, that isn't the type of production Olsen posted during his best days with the Panthers, but it's a heck of a lot better than anything Chicago got from the tight end position this year, and keep in mind that Olsen did that in spite of a whole lot of instability at quarterback in Carolina.
Remember: Olsen was drafted by the Bears back in 2007, spending the first four years of his career in the Windy City before being traded to the Panthers in 2011.
Olsen was decent in Chicago, but he flourished in Carolina, developing into one of the NFL's best tight ends and stringing together three straight Pro Bowl appearances between 2014 and 2016.
Unfortunately, foot injuries limited the 34-year-old to just 16 games combined between 2017 and 2018, but Olsen, for the most part, remained healthy in 2019.
Obviously, he remains an injury risk, and his age only compounds that, but that's also a reason why Olsen could be had on a relatively cheap one-year deal, and for a Bears team that won't have a ton of cap room this offseason, he could end up being a low-risk, high-reward pickup.
Again, tight end is far from Chicago's only need. The running game is a mess. The receiving corps need help. The offensive line stinks. Let's not even get started with Mitchell Trubisky.
But in Olsen, the Bears have an opportunity to fill a pretty big hole, and while there is always a chance that Olsen may not make it through 2020 healthy, it wouldn't burn much of a hole in Chicago's wallet, and the Bears can always draft a tight end in the event that Olsen does deal with more injuries.
Basically, Trubisky needs weapons. Period. We can knock him as much as we want (and much of the criticism is warranted), but at the same time, he doesn't exactly have a ton of options.
Outside of Allen Robinson, the Bears don't have any consistent wide receivers, and the jury is largely out on running back David Montgomery, who is entering his second season. Also, fellow halfback Tarik Cohen had a miserable 2019.
Olsen isn't Austin Hooper or Hunter Henry. Not at this stage. But he represents a much more cost-effective option for a cash-strapped club in Chicago, and he proved this past season that he can still play at a decent level, even in his older age.
If the Bears don't at least seriously consider signing Olsen, they will be making a grave mistake.
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