Greg Olsen had a solid four-year career with the Chicago Bears, catching 194 passes for 1,981 yards and 20 touchdowns. However, there is a reality where Olsen’s Bears tenure ended with a trade to the New England Patriots, due to the franchise missing out on legend Rob Gronkowski.
Gronk ultimately was selected by the Patriots with the No. 42 overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. The Baltimore Ravens were prepared to draft him twice, both in the first and second round. But with New England moving before Baltimore in the second-round, the Ravens never had a chance to land Gronkowski.
But what if the Patriots never swung a trade? What if Gronkowski played out his career on the Ravens? Well according to him, that would’ve started a domino effect that ended with Olsen being traded to New England, via Dudes on Dudes podcast.
“I also heard through a grapevine, that if I didn’t get drafted to the New England Patriots, Greg Olsen was going to get traded that day for a draft pick to the New England Patriots because the Patriots were looking for a tight end,” Gronkowski said.
Rob Gronkowski reveals that the #Ravens were going to pick him before Bill Belichick and the #Patriots traded up one slot ahead of them.
There’s also the matter of Josh McDaniels and Tim Tebow. 👀
(via @DudesOnDudesPod) pic.twitter.com/B77XufkDJd
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) May 7, 2025
End of Greg Olsen’s tenure with the Chicago Bears
The Patriots had to trade up for the right to draft Gronkowski, meaning even with an Olsen trade, New England wouldn’t have the capital to give Chicago for the tight end to play for the Bears. However, Gronk’s arrival to the NFL does align with Olsen’s end in Chicago.
The Patriots star was a rookie in 2010, catching 42 passes for 546 yards and 10 touchdowns. That year was also Olsen’s final season with the Bears, as he caught 41 passes for 404 yards and five touchdowns. Heading into the 2011 season, Olsen was traded to the Carolina Panthers for a third-round draft pick.
Chicago struggled to find consistent production, turning to Kellen Davis. While he had five touchdowns in 2011, that dropped to just two in 2012. Once Martellus Bennett arrived though, the Bears found their tight end. He was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2014.
However, at the same time, Olsen was voted to three straight Pro Bowls from 2014-16. Bennett left the Bears after three years in 2016.
Perhaps the biggest oddity of it all is that the No. 42 pick used to draft Gronkowski originally belonged to the Bears. They traded it to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for Gaines Adams. It changed hands a couple times before ultimately landing with the Patriots. Gronkowski went on to have a Hall of Fame level career, catching 92 touchdowns and winning four Super Bowls.
Fans still look back fondly of Olsen’s time with the Bears. With his trade to the Panthers occurring, it seemed inevitable that he was leaving Chicago sooner rather than later. The Bears did get one extra year of him though, and advanced to the Conference Championship in 2010, ultimately losing to the Green Bay Packers.
All of this now is hindsight, both tight ends are now retired. However, the Bears have a new tight end prodigy in town in Colston Loveland. Chicago is hoping he sticks around longer than Olsen and has a career like Gronkowski.
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