Olsen To Be Used As Trade Bait?

Chicago Bears general manager Jerry Angelo did not rule out trading a roster player this year although he sounded Friday like he probably wouldn’t be picking up the phone to make a call on someone.

But he also seemed to be sending a message that he’ll be listening if anybody wants to talk deal. He mentioned that if something were to come to pass it likely would involve someone on offense. The inescapable sense was that tight end Greg Olsen could well be in play and is believed to already have brought that up himself to Angelo.

“Players look at themselves and how they fit, and that’s normal,” Angelo said. “But we’re in the business to keep our good players. We’re in the business that our schemes facilitate our better players. That to me is what good coaching is about.

“I really don’t see that happening…. [But] if someone makes a call to you, that’s different. You’re always going to listen to what somebody has to offer and if it’s in your best interest, then obviously you’ll do that.”

Olsen simply does not fit the mold of tight ends in Mike Martz’s offense any more than Ted Washington or Keith Traylor fit with a Lovie Smith defense. Olsen is a receiver first and that is not what Martz wants first from his tight ends.

Frankly, recently signed Richard Angulo seemingly is a better fit for Martz, and offensive line coach Mike Tice had a hand in the Bears’ pursuit and return to Chicago of Angulo. And Brad Biggs mentions anticipated Bears interest in another widebody hammer at the tight-end position via free agency.

If the Bears invest free agent dollars in Brandon Manumaleuna, who played for Martz, and already brought in Angulo, who played for Tice, the Olsen window in Chicago seems very, very close to closing. And if that brings a No. 2 draft choice, for instance, which seems about right for a 60-catch tight end, maybe that’s a win all around.

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(mkrob.com)