According to an NFL source with knowledge of the situation, the Bears traded Greg Olsen to the Panthers for a player and a draft pick (the player is not believed to be wide receiver Steve L Smith).
The Bears gave Olsen’s agent Drew Rosenhaus permission to shop Olsen, and they are believed to have come to terms with the Panthers on a contract extension as the 2007 first-round draft pick was entering the final year of his rookie contract with the Bears.
Olsen is a talented pass-catching TE and was largely underutilized in Chicago, especially under OC Mike Martz. He will give Cam Newton a big body to throw to, especially in the redzone. This clearly hurts whatever momentum Jeremy Shockey was building. Carolina routinely ignores the TE position, but OC Rob Chudzinski may change that. As for Chicago, this is a big blow to Jay Cutler and the entire offense -- Olsen was his best receiver and the Bears will likely be making some moves to replace him.
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