Panthers tight end Greg Olsen is set to be in the broadcast booth this Sunday for the Vikings’ game against the Rams. That’s not sitting particularly well with Minnesota, who believes it could give the Panthers an unfair advantage when they play them in Week 14.
The Vikings don’t want Panthers TE Greg Olsen in the booth for their game against the Rams
The Panthers play the Vikings in three weeks, when Olsen is eligible to return from injured reserve.
Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM
Vikings GM Rick Spielman made a complaint to the NFL and FOX, saying that it would be inappropriate for him to be up in the booth for a game:
Unfortunately for the Vikings, the NFL doesn’t see a problem with Olsen being in the nest for the game:
It’s also not something that Olsen is unaware of — knowing that his team and the Vikings will be facing off next month.
“I don’t know how much inside info they’re going to give me,” Olsen said Tuesday. “I don’t know how many production meetings I’ll be allowed in considering we play them a few weeks later.”
That question was answered rather quickly. An NFL spokesman specifically told Pelissero: “We did not object to this. The player will be in the broadcast booth and will not be attending practice or a production meeting.”
In a statement to Pelissero, FOX said: “We fully respect the Vikings concerns and will limit the amount of pre-game access allowed to Greg. We look forward to welcoming him in the broadcast booth and giving viewers a unique perspective this Sunday.”
On Wednesday, Olsen further defended himself, via the Charlotte Observer’s Joe Person:
“We have scouts at every game across the league. I’m going to have enough trouble on my hands broadcasting a game let alone looking for little nuances on the sideline. I don’t know how much time I’ll have for stealing of secrets,” Olsen said Wednesday.
“I never was intending or ever thought I would be in a production meeting. I never thought I would watch a practice,” he added. “For anyone who’s ever been in those broadcast production meetings, if you’re spilling your deepest, darkest gameplan secrets to the broadcast crew, it’s kind of on you. We’re not getting any information, whether I was in those meetings or not.”
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“It kind of sucks that there’s controversy, as opposed to people just being excited for a little bit of a different take on a game. But that’s the world we live in,” he said. “Everyone has a problem with something. I get it. I understand this is a highly competitive world. But I’m still gonna do it.”
The Vikings’ concern is legitimate, but also perhaps not all that serious. Olsen will be up and able to get a good view of what the Vikings do on both sides of the ball. Is it going to give the Panthers a serious competitive advantage in a few weeks? Probably not. But it still seems like something that probably shouldn’t be allowed.
Olsen is on IR with a foot injury, but expected to make his return by Week 12, healthy in time for their game against the Vikings.
It’s not going to be the first time an active player will be in the booth. Matt Hasselbeck and Marcus Allen have both called games as active players, in 2014 and 1994 respectively, according to NFL.com. However, those players weren’t playing the teams down the road.
This probably won’t be a huge deal, but depending on how that Week 14 matchup between the Vikings and Panthers goes, this won’t be the last we hear about this.
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