Team news: Carolina Panthers | Page 33

Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen was put in the concussion protocol after taking a brutal helmet-to-helmet hit during Sunday’s game against Washington.

Related players: Ian Thomas, Chris Manhertz

Kyle Allen hit Olsen on a short pass and Olsen had room to run and started charging toward the first-down marker. About a yard or two short of the marker, Olsen took a vicious helmet-to-helmet hit from linebacker Ryan Anderson. Olsen fumbled on the play, and may have been knocked out by the hit. After being evaluated by athletic trainers, Olsen left the game and went into concussion protocol. He was ruled out for the rest of the contest. Anderson was ejected for the illegal hit. Thomas is next up if Olsen can't go in Week 14.

Vikings WR Adam Thielen said Friday he won’t play Monday against the Seahawks if he doesn’t feel 100 percent.”

Thielen said “Probably not, no, just because I know that if you’re not 100%, you’re just going to come out five plays into the game anyway. So that’s probably the biggest difference with hamstrings from a different injury.'' Obviously there is still something lingering with his hamstring that he doesn’t feel comfortable with. At the very least, he’s a game time decision, which is a tough spot fantasy owners with the game being on Monday night, so start preparing a backup plan or two.

According to multiple reports from Minnesota, Adam Thielen is taking part in the team’s first practice session of the week.

They won’t be releasing an injury report until Thursday because they don’t play the Seahawks until Monday, so the Vikings don’t need to release Thielen’s level of participation. Thielen has missed three of the last four games and almost all of the one game he did play because of a hamstring injury.

The solution the Bengals problems could hinge on a quarterback selected with the potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft. During Sunday's home game against the Steelers, a stadium filled with fans wearing black and yellow also featured a sign that said "Let's Grow With Joe," a reference to LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, an Ohio native and Heisman candidate.

Related players: Andy Dalton, Ryan Finley

The Bengals are trying to establish a foundation as well as boost the number of fans in the seats so taking a QB first overall seems like the way to go. Of course, we're a long way from that, but the team clearly didn't like what it saw from Finley, and will go back to Dalton in Week 13.

Andy Dalton is back at QB

Related players: Ryan Finley

Finley went 12-for-26 with a TD in last week's loss to the Steelers. In his three games he's completed just 47% of his passes and has a QB rating of 62.1. He's thrown two TDs and two INTs while losing three of four fumbles. The Bengal offense should get a little boost with Dalton back under center.

The Bears still have a kicking problem, but that doesn’t mean they’re searching for a replacement.

Bears coach Matt Nagy indicated after Sunday night’s game that he wants to stick with Eddy Pineiro.

Pineiro missed two kicks during Sunday night's matchup vs. the Rams. The story said the team has bigger problems, and with being realistically out of the playoff hunt, they may just stick it out with Pineiro for this season.