Patriots trade for TE Martellus Bennett!

Ring 6 · Mar 17, 2016

supafly said:
No, it's not that I dislike him. I just openly voiced some concerns (where I actually used the term "minor") about his role here, and the fact that he may be seeing the ball less and blocking more than he's used to if we go to 2 TE sets more, like I assume they will. That exchange was hashed out with Deus in a response or two.

The fact that I pointed out some attitude issues and deemed him the "anti-Patriot" thus far in his career for various reasons is irrelevant for why this should still be a successful trade. It's low risk, didn't cost much aside from the last year of his salary, and he's shown great talent on the field at times. The reality is that this is certainly a year to year move, though, and should be seen as such.

You keep saying he will be blocking more here. Unless we change our entire offense and become a ground and pound team that's just not true.
TEs block. They do it here and on every team in the NFL. Bennett played TE in Chicago and blocked just as much as he will here.

supafly · Mar 17, 2016

robertweathers said:
His physical skills also had erroded. AD had excellent quickness and speed. Even Rex Ryan worked him out in NYJ land and didn't sign him. Neither did Ozzie in BAL.

This occurred after we released him, right? You're not suggesting that they both passed on taking him in FA in 2007, I assume.

Froob · Mar 17, 2016

robertweathers said:
Yes- for two seasons AD was pretty good. Over those 3 seasons he was paid a cash total of $23.7m. Worst ROI ever.

His physical skills also had erroded. AD had excellent quickness and speed. Even Rex Ryan worked him out in NYJ land and didn't sign him. Neither did Ozzie in BAL.

Still though, some people claim he sucked the whole time he was here which is very inaccurate.

supafly · Mar 17, 2016

AndyJohnson said:
Bennett played TE in Chicago and blocked just as much as he will here.

This is the only part where I am skeptical, or at least found worthy of open discussion.

There's no doubt that his routine and what's asked of him will likely be at least somewhat different here in more of a team setting.

We'll see how it turns out. As Deus and I already discussed, he'll likely see plenty of receiving opportunities due to increased possessions, the possibility of extended RZ looks, etc.

supafly · Mar 17, 2016

randomk1 said:
Bears' Martellus Bennett: Jimmy Graham 'can't block worth (expletive)'

I don't think him blocking will be a problem

It isn't his ability to block. We all know that's fine. It's wondering how he'll handle some different assignments, and how he'd do as the 4th/5th option. When you take that into consideration and assume that we'll be playing more 2 TE sets, it's safe to wonder if his blocking responsibilities may increase and how he'd handle those differences.

Apparently, some already know the answer to that ahead of time, though, so there's nothing to discuss.

As far as any comments on Jimmy Graham go, I think you could ask anyone in the NFL and they'd likely tell you the same. He's always been a glorified receiver.

EwanSellars · Mar 17, 2016

he has already been the 4th option when he was behind Marshall, Jeffrey and Forte

PlainOldEd · Mar 17, 2016

robertweathers said:
They just did it with Brady.

Essentially they converted the next ~2.5 years of his previous deal's salary into a signing bonus and extended the life of the deal for the next two years. There are other examples of this happening. Team benefits from lowering cap number and player benefits having money guaranteed up-front.

We aren't going to agree here but I'm pretty sure the Pats had a chat with Bennett before this went down and asked him A) Will you want to play here and B) Will you be willing to restructure your deal. They may try to make him whole and get him to around $5m this year but it wont all be guaranteed.

No, they didnt just do it with Brady.
They added years and money.

The question was when did a player ever take 1/2 the money of his current deal for the same number of years just to convert it to guaranteed money? If you were talking about him maybe taking $4m guaranteed instead of $5m I could see it, but $2.5m is absolutely ridiculous. It will never happen.

RobertWeathers · Mar 17, 2016

supafly said:
This occurred after we released him, right? You're not suggesting that they both passed on taking him in FA in 2007, I assume.

Yes. After the Pats cut him in 2010 he had workouts w/ NYJ (Ryan HC) and BAL and they both chose not to sign him.

RobertWeathers · Mar 17, 2016

PlainOldEd said:
No, they didnt just do it with Brady.
They added years and money.

Look at the before and after of Brady's 2013 deal and now. They added a couple of bucks.

PlainOldEd said:
The question was when did a player ever take 1/2 the money of his current deal for the same number of years just to convert it to guaranteed money? If you were talking about him maybe taking $4m guaranteed instead of $5m I could see it, but $2.5m is absolutely ridiculous. It will never happen.

If you don't like the Brady example look at Amendola's restructure from last year.

Players lower salary for guarantees all the time- especially if the are about to get cut.

CISGS · Mar 17, 2016

This is huge. So happy.

Ivan · Mar 17, 2016

Love the move. This will make a huge difference for the offense. Now they can go back to the no huddle and keep teams completely of balance. They still need to fix RB but that will be easier in two TE sets. Much as I would love to see an extension I think this will be a one year rental and he will try to cash in after it. This made their off-season much much better.

Ring 6 · Mar 17, 2016

supafly said:
This is the only part where I am skeptical, or at least found worthy of open discussion.

There's no doubt that his routine and what's asked of him will likely be at least somewhat different here in more of a team setting.

We'll see how it turns out. As Deus and I already discussed, he'll likely see plenty of receiving opportunities due to increased possessions, the possibility of extended RZ looks, etc.

Can you explain why you think he will be asked to block more here than in Chicago or anywhere else? I don't understand. TEs block on running plays and run pass patterns on 95% of pass plays here, there and everywhere.
You sound like he got traded from a passing team to a running team. I just don't understand why you think he would block more here.
Don't mean to be repetitive but this has been the primary point of each of my posts to you and you have not addressed it.

SHOWTIME15 · Mar 17, 2016

Bears TE Martellus Bennett unfollows teammate on Twitter, chaos ensues

Bennett got into a twitter fight with his former teammate.

SalemPats · Mar 17, 2016

Amazing trade. There was a thread earlier about going back to a 2 TE set and my argument was it's nearly impossible to get that 'Aaron Hernandez' type of player, well we just did. Thanks BB

varjao · Mar 17, 2016

Great signing, solid free agency so far. I can see now BB double dipping in RB's in the draft.

breakin · Mar 17, 2016

The thing about brady is if bennett is the 4th option he should get open ALOT and brady will find him each time. I think the production will be there

RobertWeathers · Mar 17, 2016

varjao said:
Great signing, solid free agency so far. I can see now BB double dipping in RB's in the draft.

Agreed. I think they are doing just that.

2RBs, DE, DT, OLB/ILB, OT maybe sprinkle in some CBs in there too.

PatsFan2 · Mar 17, 2016

robertweathers said:
Agreed. I think they are doing just that.

2RBs, DE, DT, OLB/ILB, OT maybe sprinkle in some CBs in there too.

With a possible DA departure and a useless Aaron Dropson how is WR not a NEED? I could see us double dipping at WR Keshawn Martin not a sure thing I could see a Rookie or two beating him out.

RobertWeathers · Mar 17, 2016

PatsFan2 said:
With a possible DA departure and a useless Aaron Dropson how is WR not a NEED? I could see us double dipping at WR Keshawn Martin not a sure thing I could see a Rookie or two beating him out.

It sure is a need but because this system is so complex I think they'll trade for one or two or maybe sign a vet that is out there. They might surprise us and draft on with the top 4 picks. I see them burning a lower round pick on one or two instead.

notex · Mar 17, 2016

PatsFan2 said:
With a possible DA departure and a useless Aaron Dropson how is WR not a NEED? I could see us double dipping at WR Keshawn Martin not a sure thing I could see a Rookie or two beating him out.

I am squarely in the minority on this one.. but from the patriots perspective they must be looking to run lots of 2 TE sets with Bennett in the fold. I also don't think that patriots discrimiate between WR and TE as much as people think.. Gronk lines up all over the field.

Gronk - TE
Bennett - TE
Edelman - WR
Hogan - WR
Amendola - WR
Lewis - RB
Dobson - WR Bench?
Martin - WR Bench?
White- RB Bench?

That seems like plenty of people to target on any given play... that's 8 different legitimate targets for Tom Brady.. Just saying

So while it would be nice to draft/develop a young WR - I don't see as much urgency as some others do. IMO it is still "Draft best player available regardless of position" - Except QB.. I will murder someone if we draft another QB in 2nd round.

Patriots trade for TE Martellus Bennett!

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