Greg Olsen 'Way Ahead of the Curve' in Recovery from Foot Injury

Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen refractured his foot in Week 1, and after suffering the injury last year as well, he knows what the recovery timeline looks like.

The good news is he's already ahead of where he was at this point in the 2017 rehab process.

"Yeah, I'm way ahead of the curve," Olsen said Monday, per ESPN.com's David Newton. "Last year at two weeks I was laying in my bed in a cast. I couldn't do anything."

"I'm way ahead of the curve from that standpoint. It's just a matter of seeing each week how your foot responds and just try to add a little more, a little more. What that time frame is, we're optimistic. Hopefully, it's sooner rather than later."

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport (h/t NFL.com's Austin Knoblauch), Olsen is hoping to return in four to five weeks. Last year, he missed more than two months after he underwent surgery on his broken right foot.

Olsen is not expected to need an operation this time.

Fortunately for Olsen and the Panthers, a Week 4 bye could limit the impact of his most recent injury.

"I'm doing good, feeling good. Obviously, the bye week came at a good time to be able to get a good week of work without stressing out about missing a game potentially," Olsen said. "... I feel good about where we're at considering we're two weeks into this thing. I'm just going to try to make the most of this season."

While Olsen may be in high spirits, he couldn't help but voice his disappointment about how the setback occurred. He was injured after he stepped on an opponent's foot in the first quarter of the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys.

"It's frustrating," Olsen said. "I went eight months of never missing an OTA, minicamp, training camp, preseason, never missed a day, never was sore. Felt great. Had probably my best offseason from a production standpoint, a physical standpoint, in years."

The Panthers are 1-1 without their three-time Pro Bowl tight end and are averaging 27.5 points per game. Tight end Ian Thomas has five catches for 30 yards in Olsen's absence. 

Following the bye, Carolina will play three consecutive games against NFC East teams: the New York Giants, Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles.