Panthers get TE Greg Olsen back on roster. How they plan to keep him there

The Carolina Panthers activated tight end Greg Olsen from injured reserve Friday.

Now they have to make sure they don’t do anything that will send Olsen and his surgically repaired foot back to the injured list.

Olsen will play his first game in more than two months on Sunday when the Panthers face the Jets in East Rutherford, N.J. Olsen practiced all week and looked good doing so, according to Panthers coach Ron Rivera.

Still, the Panthers don’t want to overdo it with their Pro Bowl tight end.

“We’re going to try to do it judiciously. We’re going to save him from himself and save him from us,” Rivera said Friday. “You get a guy like that, you want to keep him out there as much as you can, but just knowing that his conditioning and his football shape isn’t what it needs to be right now.”

Veteran Ed Dickson has played well in Olsen’s absence, and No. 3 tight end Chris Manhertz also saw his opportunities increase. Rivera said he didn’t want Olsen playing 60 snaps in his first game back.

Olsen will take the roster spot formerly held by rookie wideout Curtis Samuel, who was placed on IR after fracturing his ankle vs. the Dolphins on Nov. 13. Samuel recently underwent surgery and faces a long recovery, Rivera said.

Last season, Olsen became the first tight end in NFL history to post three consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons. He was injured in a Week 2 victory over Buffalo while planting to make a cut.

“He’s done everything he’s supposed to do and then some,” Rivera said. “You know him, he’s going to research it and do things the right way, and that’s what he’s done. He’s really gone out and worked on it. He says he feels great and he’s looked good. On tape he’s looked very good.”

The Panthers (7-3) will look for their fourth win in a row when they close out the AFC East portion of the schedule vs. the Jets (4-6), who also are coming off a bye week.

Carolina’s top two centers – Ryan Kalil and Tyler Larsen – are questionable to play because of injury, and nickel back Captain Munnerlyn’s status also is in question as he battles the flu.

Kalil has played in only parts of two games this season because of an undisclosed neck issue, which he aggravated during a Week 7 loss at Chicago. Larsen sprained his foot in the Monday night victory over Miami nearly two weeks ago.

Both were limited during Friday’s practice, although Rivera said the Panthers were being cautious with the two centers.

Rivera said he was optimistic that Larsen could play vs. the Jets and indicated the team was considering the big picture in evaluating Kalil, the five-time Pro Bowler whose 2016 season was cut short by a shoulder injury.

“He’s done some good (things) and by far probably one of his better weeks. We’ll see,” Rivera said of Kalil. “We go through it and just want to make sure we’re making the right decision at the right time. … I think you want to build it up gradually.”

Munnerlyn missed his third day of practice Friday because of illness. Rivera declined to say who would play nickel back if Munnerlyn is out, although outside linebacker Shaq Thompson lines up there a lot when the Panthers are in their “big nickel” package.

With the NFC South showdown vs. the Saints looming next weekend, Rivera said he talked with his players about not falling to victim to a “trap game” vs. the Jets.

“I talked about what we had left (on the schedule), to be honest,” Rivera said.

“But at the end of the day, it all has to start here with this very first one. And from there we’ll go down the list.”

This story was originally published November 24, 2017 at 3:55 PM with the headline "Panthers get TE Greg Olsen back on roster. How they plan to keep him there."