Making 'Extraordinary Recovery,' Seahawks Designate Greg Olsen For Return

After suffering a ruptured fascia in Week 11, few believed Olsen would return to action before the end of the regular season. But that outcome now looks probable as the three-time Pro Bowler unexpectedly returns to practice this week.

Following a Hall of Fame worthy tenure in Carolina, Greg Olsen decided against hanging up his cleats after being released back in February, choosing to continue his career with the Seahawks for at least one more season.

Despite receiving an offer to become a broadcaster with Fox Sports, Olsen felt this wasn’t the right time to call it a career just yet, as he ultimately signed a one-year, $7 million contract with the Seahawks. While he was welcomed with open arms by the organization, especially by quarterback Russell Wilson, the 35-year old unfortunately ruptured the fascia in his left foot last month, landing him on injured reserve.

At the time of his injury, most experts feared the injury could be a potential career ender, although Olsen remained adamant he wasn't going out this way. Making good on that commitment, the former Panther will be allowed to return to practice this week after being designated to return and coach Pete Carroll couldn’t be happier to have the veteran tight end potentially back in the fold.

“He’s the real deal,” Carroll told reporters on Wednesday. “He’s such a great football player, he loves this game so much, he loves competing so much. There’s no space other than he’s the top of the list in all of those character principles about who he is and what he’s all about and what you can expect from him.”

Considering Olsen was placed on the IR after Week 11, it’s pretty amazing he’ll be back on the practice field less than a month after sustaining such a significant injury. Though his recovery process isn’t completed just yet and he will have to prove he's healthy before he returns to the 53-man roster, this is still a very encouraging sign for a potential return before the playoffs arrive.

At this stage of a career, most players would’ve probably packed it in and called it quits after sustaining this type of injury, but Olsen has done the exact opposite, working his tail off to make it back for a team with championship aspirations. Defying all odds, Carroll admitted he was shocked to see him heal so quickly and was blown away by his dedication to finish his career on a high note.

“He’s amazing, I don’t even know how he got that well this fast,” Carroll explained. “I don’t have a clue how that happened, but he did and he’s dying to play right now. He just wants to get out there, he’s a perfect competitor to have on your club.”

Over 10 games with the Seahawks, Olsen has earned eight starts, producing 23 catches, 224 yards, one touchdown, 9.7 yards per catch, and a 65.7 percent catch rate.

Digging deeper into his performance, the three-time Pro Bowler has generated 60 yards after the catch, 15 first downs, a 69.2 receiver rating, and has only dropped one pass, his lowest total since the 2017 campaign.

Without question, Olsen deserves an enormous amount of credit for putting himself in a position to be able to practice this early in his recovery process. That being said, Carroll wasn't ready to confirm his status for this weekend’s matchup against Washington just yet. The former Hurricane will be tested during the week to determine whether he’s healthy enough to play.

“He’s made an extraordinary recovery to get to this [point] right now,” Carroll mentioned. “So we’re going to practice him during the week and see what happens. He’s been working out with the guys, so we’ll see how he does on the practice field.”