Greg Olsen

Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen loves football. He loves his family more.

The Carolina Panthers organization has given Greg Olsen all the time he needs to attend to his son, T.J., who recently had open-heart surgery.

So when his football family said take unlimited time off two weeks before the season to be with his son, T.J., as he underwent open heart surgery for the third time since being born with a severe congenital heart defect in 2012, it was a relief.

"It's made life a lot easier, and it's not something I take for granted," Olsen said on Monday after returning to practice for the first time in seven days. "You would hope that it would be this way everywhere, but sometimes people aren't quite as understanding."

"I haven't felt a ton of pressure to be two places at once, and I've been able to handle my family and that priority first," he said. "But also realize, this is a priority for me, too. It's important for me to be here.

And the Panthers will need Olsen. He led the team in catches last season with 73. He is a big part of a two-tight end set Carolina plans to implement in an attempt to diversify the offense and take pressure off a new group of wide receivers.

Olsen was quoted as saying his wife and family understand and that he has a job to do, and that's helped him focus on the football aspect without added stress. Olsen is expected to be ready Week 1 against Tampa Bay barring anything unexpected. It's an OK matchup with Tampa ranked 13th in allowing fantasy points to TEs last year. Olsen is ranked 7th on our list.