(RADIO.COM Sports) "I think Chicago would lose their minds."
That's what former NFL tight end Greg Olsen had to say about all the trade buzz surrounding Seahawks star quarterback Russell Wilson, should a deal somehow come into being, and we think he's probably correct in that assumption.
Related
Olsen would know — he's a recent teammate of Wilson and he also played in Chicago for a good chunk of time, joining the Bears as their 2007 first-round pick and staying there until after the 2010 season. And that whole "Chicago fans losing their minds" comment? It wouldn't surprise Olsen one bit. He talked about his experience with the Bears and the passionate fan base in Chicago in a recent appearance on "The Colin Cowherd Podcast."
"It felt a little more like college," Olsen said. "You know, it felt a little more like a college environment ... like, that day, that Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field, was the day of the week. It didn't matter if the Cubs were doing anything, the Blackhawks were doing anything. They loved their other teams, but it was a Bears town, and when the Bears were playing, the environment, the energy ... it's just different.
"There's no casual nature to that stadium. There's nothing casual. I remember ... I get there as a rookie, and I would have moms, older ladies, in the supermarket — the things they would say to you after a tough game, a good game, a loss — I would go home to my wife, I was like, 'These people here are crazy about the team. Almost, like, delusional.'"
And Olsen loved every second of it. He loved his four-year stint in town, totaling nearly 200 catches and 2,000 yards and scoring 20 touchdowns in that span from quarterbacks like Kyle Orton and Jay Cutler. He loved the whole experience ... except for when the Bears traded him away.
"I was pissed off as hell when I got traded from there. I mean, I was beside myself," Olsen said. "I'm like, I'm getting traded from the Chicago Bears — we just played in the NFC Championship in one of the coolest cities in the world — and I'm going to Charlotte, North Carolina?"
Olsen was dealt to the Carolina Panthers for a third-round draft pick, which was subsequently packaged with another third-round pick to bring receiver Brandon Marshall to the Bears. Eventually, after some strong production, Marshall was traded away in exchange for a fifth-rounder, which eventually was used by Chicago on safety Adrian Amos. All in all, the initial Olsen deal was one that confused and angered Bears fans and wasn't the smart move to make at the time — former general manager Jerry Angelo even called it a "mistake" himself — though following moves helped to partially make up for it.
From Olsen's perspective, considering he earned three Pro Bowl nods with the Panthers and racked up more than 500 receptions and 6,000 receiving yards, his anger probably subsided fairly quickly. But he also noted how he and his wife had just brought their son home and painted a nursery for him, planning on raising a family there in Chicago.
"Here we are, bringing our kid home thinking Chicago is gonna be our home," Olsen said. "We're gonna raise our children here, what not. Six weeks later, leave my house, never step foot, my wife flies back there, sells it, I never step foot back in my house, fly to Charlotte, never went home again. Just, literally, in 12 hours."
LISTEN NOW on the RADIO.COM App
Follow RADIO.COM Sports
Twitter | Facebook I Instagram