Seahawks' Greg Olsen suffers plantar fascia tear

Seahawks tight end Greg Olsen has been diagnosed with a a plantar fascia injury, according to head coach Pete Carroll. The injury could spell the end of Olsen’s season and, in turn, his career. For his part, Olsen is hoping to recover in time for the playoffs, though the Seahawks would probably have to make a deep run to make that happen (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport).

Olsen suffered the non-contact injury in the fourth quarter of Thursday night’s game and had to be helped to the sidelines. Even before he was carted into the locker room, team doctors knew that Olsen’s injury was fairly serious.

The 35-year-old joined the Seahawks on a one-year, $7M deal this offseason, though he also has a placeholder deal with FOX Sports to start his broadcasting career once he’s done playing. Olsen also experienced foot trouble late in his Panthers tenure. He missed 16 games between the 2017-18 campaigns because of multiple foot issues. After lots of rehab, he managed to play in 14 games last year.

In nine Panthers seasons, Olsen cemented himself as one the best players in franchise history. He eclipsed 1,000 yards en route to three Pro Bowls from 2014-16 and helped the Panthers to a 15-1 season that produced an NFC championship. From 2007 through 2019, Olsen registered 8,444 receiving yards — third-most in the NFL among tight ends in that span. With the Seahawks, he’s caught 23 passes for 224 yards and one touchdown through 10 games.