Greg Olsen: 'No desire' for trade*

Via Twitter, Chicago tight end Greg Olsen has provided his first public comments since new offensive coordinator Mike Martz's arrival sparked dramatic rumors about his future with the Bears. Here is the full tweet:

So far I have a great feeling about my role this year. I have no desire to play anywhere but in Chicago. That was purely media speculation.

While it's true that Martz hasn't used the tight end extensively in previous incarnations of his offense, I've always thought he was creative enough to find a way to involve a player with Olsen's skills. Coach Lovie Smith spoke optimistically about Olsen's aptitude for Martz's scheme last month, and there has never been any indication the Bears have seriously considered trading him.

The reference to "media speculation" are reports that suggested he might not be enthused about playing the role of the traditional blocking tight end that Martz likes. Frankly, they were driven in part by Olsen's public silence on the matter. Via Twitter, Olsen said:

I think those reports have been blown outa proportion. I pit my blocking up against any other pass catching te.

It will take some adjustment on both sides for this to work. As Smith said last month, Olsen will have to line up more often on the line of scrimmage this season -- both for blocking purposes and to generate favorable matchups in the passing game. And as noted all along, Martz has never had a tight end with Olsen's skills. It's hard to believe he would overlook them.

*Update: Olsen (@gregolsen82) has continued to tweet. Via his account, he said that Martz's offense does have plays for the tight end and called that angle "another story blown out of proportion." Finally (for now), Olsen tweeted:

I have been an every down TE last two seasons and that's not gunna change regardless of what people say

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(espn.com)