Eric Olsen (American football)

Eric Olsen (born June 16, 1988) is a former American football offensive guard. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played collegiately for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He has also been a member of the Washington Redskins, Pittsburgh Steelers, and New Orleans Saints.

Eric Olsen
No. 69, 66
Position:Guard
Personal information
Born: (1988-06-16) June 16, 1988
Staten Island, New York, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:306 lb (139 kg)
Career information
High school:Brooklyn (NY) Poly Prep
College:Notre Dame
NFL Draft:2010 / Round: 6 / Pick: 183
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Games played:23
Games started:4
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years
Eric Olsen

Olsen attended Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn, New York, where he was both an offensive tackle as well as a defensive end. At offensive tackle, he was never charged with a sack to his quarterback. As a defensive end, he recorded 53 tackles, 8 sacks and forced 3 fumbles.[1]

College career

Olsen played in 44 games during his four years at the University of Notre Dame. He started the last 31 of those games. During his junior and senior years combined he only allowed four quarterbacks sacks.[2]

He was also a member of the first Seligman fraternity pledge class at Amherst College in Massachusetts. Olsen continues to be an active brother and attends annual Seligmania events.

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm length40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
6 ft 4 in
(1.93 m)		 306 lb
(139 kg)		 32+1⁄2 in
(0.83 m)		 5.25 s1.87 s3.03 s4.82 s7.50 s29+1⁄2 in
(0.75 m)		8 ft 09 in
(2.67 m)		35 reps
All values from NFL Combine[3]

Denver Broncos

Olsen was projected to be drafted in the fifth or sixth round during the 2010 NFL Draft.[4] He was one of the top performers at the bench press, vertical jump and the 3-cone drill.[5] Olsen was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the sixth round (183rd overall).[6] He was expected to compete with J. D. Walton for the starting center job for the Broncos. He was waived by the Broncos September 3, 2011.

Washington Redskins

Olsen spent the 2011 season on Washington's practice squad.

New Orleans Saints

With the New Orleans Saints heading into the 2011 playoffs, the team signed Olsen off the Redskins' practice squad on January 2, 2012.[7] He was inactive in both of the Saints' games in the playoffs.

He remained with New Orleans for the 2012 season, playing in all 16 games and starting 4 as a blocking tight end. In 2013 was placed on injured reserve during training camp, and later released.

Pittsburgh Steelers

He signed with the Steelers but did not play during the regular season.

Tennessee Titans

On April 3, 2014, Olsen signed with the Tennessee Titans, but he was released at the end of training camp.[8]

Second stint with Saints

The Saints brought Olsen back for a second stint with the team on October 22, 2014.[9] He was expected to provide additional depth on the line after an injury to Jonathan Goodwin meant that backup center Tim Lelito would be starting.[10] He was released on November 12, 2014.[11]

Second stint with Titans

Olsen returned to the Titans after they signed him on November 25, 2014.[12]

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns signed Olsen on May 26, 2015.[13] On September 5, 2015, he was released by the Browns.[14]

Personal life

Olsen has one brother, Drew, a former safety at Gettysburg College. His father, Andy Olsen, was a New York City firefighter. Just three days before the 9/11 attacks, his father was promoted to Lieutenant. Therefore, he was in officer training on September 11, and not with Ladder 80, his firehouse at the time. When his father finally arrived at the World Trade Center site, both towers had already collapsed. A few days later, when he was digging through the rubble, his father found a truck from his firehouse buried and destroyed. None of the firefighters in that particular unit survived .[15]

References
  1. "Player Bio: Eric Olsen - University of Notre Dame Official Athletics Site". Und.com. June 16, 1988. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  2. "– Official Website Of The Denver Broncos". Denverbroncos.com. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  3. "Eric Olsen Draft Profile", NFLDraftScout.com, retrieved May 4, 2009
  4. "Draft 2010 Center Draft Prospects". NFLDraftScout.com. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  5. "NFL.com Combine Player Profile: Eric Olsen". NFL.com. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  6. "2010 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  7. Jones, Mike (January 2, 2012). "Saints sign Redskins practice squad lineman Eric Olsen". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  8. "Eric Olsen released by Tennessee", CBSSports.com, August 29, 2014.
  9. Triplett, Mike (October 23, 2014). "Eric Olsen glad to be back with Saints". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  10. "Saints bring Eric Olsen back to the team", Profootballtalk.com, October 22, 2014.
  11. New Orleans Saints waive reserve center Eric Olsen
  12. Titans Waive Shaun Phillips; Place Brian Schwenke on IR
  13. "Browns sign OL Eric Olsen, LB Mike Reilly". ClevelandBrowns.com. May 26, 2015. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  14. "Cleveland Browns reduce roster to 53". ClevelandBrowns.com. September 5, 2015. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  15. Legwold, Jeff (May 3, 2010). "Memory of 9/11 hits Broncos rookie 24/7". Denverpost.com. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
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