In 2017, Greg Olsen fractured a bone in his foot in Week 2, went on injured reserve and returned eight weeks later against the New York Jets – only to play a third of the snaps on the artificial turf of MetLife Stadium, miss another week of play before returning to finish out the season. In 2018, Olsen suffered a re-fracture of the same fifth metatarsal in Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys – just over three weeks later, he returned to practice and now, after a full week of practice and only 35 days after suffering the re-break in the Panthers’ home opener – Olsen looks poised to return against the Washington Redskins on Sunday.
Although Olsen is listed as questionable, Ron Rivera said that after the tight end practiced fully the final two days of the week that he would be more likely to have the probable designation if that still existed.
The Panthers will also return another captain, with Thomas Davis returning from his four-game suspension – in order to activate Davis, the team has placed linebacker Jared Norris, an important piece of the special teams puzzle, on injured reserve after the 25-year old, who finished last season on IR as well, suffered a toe injury during last Friday’s practice. The Panthers will also be without rookie linebacker Andre Smith, who reaggravated a hamstring injury and did not practice all week; Smith battled the same hamstring injury throughout training camp.
Also missing Sunday’s game will be wide receiver Damiere Byrd, who sat out practice all week with a sore ankle – Byrd missed two of the first four games after taking a helmet to the knee in Week 1; the 5-9, 180 pound wideout had two stints on injured reserve in 2017, breaking his forearm in Week 4 and suffering a lower leg injury in the penultimate game of the regular season against Tampa Bay. While Byrd hadn’t recorded a reception thus far in 2018, he provided a spark on special teams in Week 1 with a career-high 30 yard punt return that set up a touchdown.
Check out the full injury report below:
| Player | Injury | Game Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greg Olsen | Foot | Questionable | Rivera said Olsen would have been "probable" if that was still a designation |
| Damiere Byrd | Ankle | Out | |
| Andre Smith | Hamstring | Out |
