Greg Olsen Wonders Why Bears Haven't Called

Former Bears tight end became a free agent on the weekend and said he had hoped to hear from Chicago, which is in need of tight end help

Free agent tight end Greg Olsen hasn't heard from the Bears wonders why not.

Olsen and the Carolina Panthers agreed to part ways with Olsen's contract coming to an end and he took the opportunity in a guest appearance on ESPN 1000 in Chicago to say he'd like to hear from them.

"I'll be honest: in my heart I was hoping they would have been one of the first calls," said Olsen, who played for the Bears from 2007-2010. "To my knowledge we have not heard from them. Whether or not they do or do not is hard to say."

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported Olsen is visiting Buffalo and also his old coach, Ron Rivera with the Washington Redskins. It was reported by Adam Schefter of ESPN.com that Olsen will also visit Seattle.

The Bears aren't necessarily in need of a tight end per se. They are looking for one who is effective and healthy.

Trey Burton, Adam Shaheen and Ben Braunecker all finished the season on injured reserve. The Bears played much of the season with waiver wire pickup J.P. Holtz, practice squad player Jesper Horsted, former tackle Bradley Sowell and Eric Saubert at the position. They also have Dax Raymond and converted basketball player Darion Clark under contract for the coming offseason.

Burton had hip surgery and his rehabbing.

The Bears had Olsen throughout his rookie contract and then decided to let him leave in free agency. At the time, offensive coordinator Mike Martz was using an offense he didn't think fit well with Olsen's blocking skills, and the Bears also had salary cap issues.

Olsen is 35 and has had offers to get involved in broadcasting.

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