The Carolina Panthers bid farewell to tight end Greg Olsen on Tuesday (for at least the next month and a half).

The three-time Pro Bowl tight end was placed on injured reserve with a broken foot, the Panthers announced.

"He broke the fifth metatarsal on his right foot -- it's called a Jones fracture," Panthers athletic trainer Ryan Vermillion told Max Henson of the team's official site. "He had a screw inserted to repair the fracture."

Related players: Ed Dickson, Christian McCaffrey

Olsen can practice again in six weeks and play in eight. McCaffrey could see more targets with the loss of Olsen, and Dickson likely takes over as the team's TE1.

Already in need of help to spruce up their offense, the Carolina Panthers sustained a massive blow on Sunday.

Tight end Greg Olsen told reporters that he broke his foot in the first half of Sunday's 9-3 win over the Buffalo Bills in Carolina. Originally expected to return to the game, Olsen was carted back onto the field to start the second half in a walking boot and crutches -- an ominous sign that foreshadowed the worst-case scenario.

"I broke my foot. It's tough. It sucks," Olsen told reporters via the team's official site.

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Olsen is expected to miss about six to eight games and he could be placed on injured reserve. It's not believed to be a season-ending injury.

Related players: Ed Dickson, Christian McCaffrey

The story said McCaffrey is a possibility to replace Olsen as a security blanket, but otherwise it's a big blow to this offense which is off to a slow start. Dickson, meanwhile caught 54 balls for 528 yards and five TDs in his second season for a Ravens, but hasn't come close since - he also hasn't really needed to. Dickson did catch a 20-yard pass in Week 2 after Olsen went down, so there is some hope he can at least help to fill the void.

Each practice, each preseason game, we see more of what rookie running back Christian McCaffrey is poised to bring to the Panthers.

“With that guy you just have to get the ball in his hands and we know he is going to make plays for us,” quarterback Derek Anderson said. “The kid is special.”

McCaffrey has certainly passed the eye test. We rank him 22nd on our RB list saying he has "Danny Woodhead-type upside in the passing game" which we think could be 70-plus catches.

Panthers rookie RB Christian McCaffrey's day is done against the Titants:

"Christian McCaffrey wearing a hat on the sideline.
His day: 3 carries for 33 yds, TD
2 catches for 39 yards
1 glimmer of hope"

Related players: Jonathan Stewart

That sound you hear is the sound of McCaffrey's hype train having already pulled out of the station. With Jonathan Stewart still likely to see 200-plus carries, the third round feels pretty early for Christian McCaffrey, though he has Danny Woodhead-type (70-plus catch) upside in the passing game. The issue is Cam Newton has never been one to check down or target his running backs heavily, so it's fair to question how easily McCaffrey will fit into the Panthers offense. Given the fact that they used the eighth overall pick on the Stanford back, changing the offense to suit his skill set would seemingly be a major priority, but how flexible is Newton? Stewart has missed three games in each of the last three seasons, and has missed a total of 26 games in the last five seasons, so McCaffrey has RB1 upside if Stewart is sidelined.

The Panthers rested Cam Newton's throwing shoulder for the second half of practice Sunday, but after a day off Monday, Newton still wasn't throwing at practice Tuesday. Newton had that shoulder surgically repaired this offseason.

“He started warming up this morning and said he still felt a little bit sore,” head coach Ron Rivera said, via the team’s website. “Why push it? Why have him throw with a sore arm and make it worse? It made no sense to have him throw with a sore shoulder.”

Newton being held out of some team drills during Sunday’s practice was part of what Rivera called routine maintenance coming off surgery, and there's no deep concern yet, but the fact that it is still sore after a day off is at least something to monitor closely.

Related players: Kelvin Benjamin, Greg Olsen, Christian McCaffrey, Jonathan Stewart

Newton is coming off an injury-plagued 2016, where he finished as QB17 (QB13 in fantasy points per game). That after an MVP 2015 where he was the best quarterback in fantasy football. Any setback from his offseason surgery would be a big blow to not only him but the rest of the weapons in Carolina's offense.

Jonathan Stewart will share the backfield with Christian McCaffrey. He will be the power back who gets most of the carries on first and second down. McCaffrey will be the change-of-pace back used in passing situations and on third down.

There will be times when both are on the field, either in the backfield or with McCaffrey in the slot or at wide receiver.

Stewart was 11 yards shy of 1,000 yards in 2015 despite missing three games, and last year ran for over 800 yards and nine TDs. He received a one-year extension through 2018. McCaffrey will surely cut into Stewart's workload but it sounds like Stewart should continue to get early-down work as well as goal line carries.

During an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio with Ross Tucker and Bob Papa, Panthers coach Ron Rivera reiterated those hopes as well as the kind of offense that the Panthers see as an example of where they’d like to go.

“Look what they did in Pittsburgh with Ben Roethlisberger,” Rivera said. “Look what they did with the type of players they put in their backfield, put in their receiving corps. They run the ball with a very quick, slashing style running game. They can ground and pound it at the same time with the same running game. Then they’ve got some very versatile, quick receivers that make plays once they get the ball in their hands.”

Related players: Cam Newton, Christian McCaffrey, Curtis Samuel

In the weeks and months since the Panthers selected running back Christian McCaffrey and wide receiver Curtis Samuel in the first two rounds of this year’s draft, they’ve made no secret about how they hope the two players fit into their offense. The team sees the rookies as adding an explosive element to the unit because of their speed, especially when it comes to catching a short pass from Cam Newton and turning it into a big game. Getting the ball out to them quickly would also likely limit the hits Newton takes in the pocket, something that would double the benefit of expanding the ranks of playmakers on offense in Charlotte, the story went on to say.

For the first time since rookie minicamp, Christian McCaffrey participated in Panthers practice on Thursday.

"It sucks whenever your team is competing and you're not," McCaffrey told reporters, per the team's website. "But you've got to follow the system, and I'm glad to be here now."

According to the Panthers' site, McCaffrey was thrown right into the fire, working out on kick coverage, participating as the fifth option in running back drills and even running plays out of the wildcat. The eighth overall pick said he was comfortable playing all over the field.

According to the story, Carolina's first-round pick had been restricted by an arcane rule from participating in organized team activities and the first two days of minicamp until his school year at Stanford, which operates on the quarter system, had ended. One day after the conclusion of classes Wednesday, McCaffrey made his debut.