Panthers coach: TE Olsen plans to play in 2018

Pro Bowl tight end Greg Olsen doesn't plan to step away from playing this season and into a career as an NFL analyst for ESPN or any other network, Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera said on Tuesday at the NFL owners meeting.

Olsen recently auditioned for the Monday Night Football analyst job that Jon Gruden had from 2009 until he accepted the coaching job at Oakland after this past season.

Because the opening was for this season and so high profile, that stirred speculation the three-time Pro Bowl selection was considering retiring before this season.

Rivera said Olsen told him and general manager Marty Hurney about the audition before he went to ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut,…