Martellus Bennett : [UPDATE: Placed on IR]

dafoe2016 said:

We know that was a bad deal. We don't know that about a future pick. I would rather have a pick with unlimited potential than a guy coming off an injury who has questionable motivation. It may not be common, but starters, All Pro players and even Hall Fame players are drafted in the fourth round and later all the time.

If we can get him for nothing then I would love to have him here. If not, I would rather take our chances with the draft pick.

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If you're talking about claiming Bennett versus the comp pick, that may be moot. Apparently, Green Bay's signing of Bennett as a UFA no longer counts in the comp pick formula because they cut him before week-10 games have started.

IOW, the Pats probably no longer have that comp pick whether they claim him or sign him after he clears waivers or do neither.

robertweathers said:

Yep. Could be multiple reasons for that.

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No I think there is pretty much only one reason Allen didn't get targeted in the TB game. He sucks so bad Brady won't throw in his direction.

NE-VT said:

1. I did not know Hollister could not block. TIL. Hyperbole?
2. Hollister is likely quicker than MB. He might have more value as a pure receiving threat.
3. A "move TE" & an "H-back" still have some value in the run game. Just less relative to a TE & a FB.
4. Hollister has 6.7% of offensive snaps. Lets assume he is bad at blocking as you claim. Do we want 2 TEs that can't block? Are you saying we cut him for MB?

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I think its pretty obvious Hollister is not good at blocking. He is clearly more capable than Allen as a receiver. If he was a passable blocker I think he pretty clearly would be getting more playing time.

TBR said:

Are teams allowed to contact a player & speak with them prior to submitting a waiver claim for them? I tried to Google this, but a bunch of fantasy football garbage came up instead.

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No. Teams are prohibited from contacting the player while he is on waivers. They must simply file a claim to acquire his contract or pass on him.

I think Bennett will pass through waivers unclaimed, and pending a physical, will sign with us, providing his head is in the right place.

Nehalem said:

No I think there is pretty much only one reason Allen didn't get targeted in the TB game. He sucks so bad Brady won't throw in his direction.

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That too.

PP2 said:

I think Bennett will pass through waivers unclaimed, and pending a physical, will sign with us, providing his head is in the right place.

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PP2 said:

No. Teams are prohibited from contacting the player while he is on waivers. They must simply file a claim to acquire his contract or pass on him.

I think Bennett will pass through waivers unclaimed, and pending a physical, will sign with us, providing his head is in the right place.

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Good to know. For that reason, I also think he'll pass through.

dannydyn said:

If he's healthy,

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He doesn't appear to be and that's probably the whole story.

maineman209 said:

If I understand Miguel's tweet correctly, the 5th-round comp that the Pats would have received for Bennet is already gone - because he was cut before week-10 (it also means that the Packers comp picks will need to be recalculated).

@dafoe2016

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Technicality here - it's gone if he isn't claimed off waivers by another team. If a team other than the Patriots claim him, the Pats would have the comp pick back. That's a factor a team would consider in deciding whether to claim him - if they already signed more FAs than they lost (no projected comp pick), then there's no worry, but some teams will have to worry about it.

Hope they at least try, would like to see him give it a shot. I'm not as down on Allen as some, I think he's a fine 6th inline blocker (fine, not good or great) but can't deny his receiving has literally contributed nothing, in which case they might as well just play a 3rd OT instead. Unless they're setting up the greatest trick play of all time in the playoffs. Still...if an option on waivers, Marty = YES.

SammyBlueCat said:

Is he quicker than Allen?

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Much slower.

Tunescribe said:

He doesn't appear to be and that's probably the whole story.

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Not only that, but I’m a bit curious as to how the relationship ended here. I’m firmly in the “he’s not coming back here” camp. I think there’s a reason why he’s been on so many teams, and that’s because he’s a headcase.

I know someone will respond with “but...Corey Dillon and Randy Moss,” but I’m not sure that Bennett would be a good locker room fit. Obviously, just my hunch and I could be wrong. We’ll know soon enough.

patfanken said:

First of all, he's currently NOT healthy, so there is no need to file a waiver wire claim. IF he gets through waivers, and IF it is determined that he still wants to play here, THEN he would be a number the Pats would want on speed dial in case there is an injury in the TE's room.

And that is the ONLY way Marty will get asked back is if there is an injury to Gronk, Allen or Hollister. The call to dump Allen is just stupid. His lack of catches has a great deal to do with the lack of targets he has gotten. Given the way the Pats distribute the ball, 2 weeks from now he could easily have 10 catches. It isn't like Allen was the reason they lost those 2 games.

So I see the situation as this. If anything happens to any of our TE's it is nice to know that there is likely to be a decent option out there to replace the loss. But right now a lot of questions need to be asked before signing him becomes even a possibility

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The call to replace Allen is stupid? Seriously? If it is, it is because of the cap hit, not because of his play. He has been useless from day one. He is not getting targets because he can't get open. And the scouting report on him is that he has below average hands. He isn't going to magically have a 10 catch game any more than Chad Johnson did. The guy has played eight games and been targeted six times. Caught ZERO. That's a fact. I looked it up. You can do that now with computers. Do you know how hard it is to play eight games as a tight end and not catch a single pass? Not even by accident? Even Hollister has three.

If you have a chance to significantly upgrade your team, you do it. I don't know if it is a possibility. Maybe he's not healthy, maybe he wants too much money, whatever. But it's ridiculous to act like Bennett (if even close to 100% health) isn't a massive upgrade over any #2 TE we have now. Not only that, but it's not an either/or choice. Bill could carry four tight ends if he really wanted to.

Our tight ends (besides Gronk) have three catches between them but one is going to have to get injured for us to consider signing a catching and blocking beast? That's just silly

dafoe2016 said:

The call to replace Allen is stupid? Seriously? If it is, it is because of the cap hit, not because of his play. He has been useless from day one. He is not getting targets because he can't get open. And the scouting report on him is that he has below average hands. He isn't going to magically have a 10 catch game any more than Chad Johnson did. The guy has played eight games and been targeted six times. Caught ZERO. That's a fact. I looked it up. You can do that now with computers. Do you now how hard it is to play eight games as a tight end and not catch a single pass? Not even by accident? Even Hollister has three.

If you have a chance to significantly upgrade your team, you do it. I don't know if it is a possibility. Maybe he's not healthy, maybe he wants too much money, whatever. But it's ridiculous to act like Bennett (if even close to 100% health) isn't a massive upgrade over any #2 TE we have now. Not only that, but it's not an either/or choice. Bill could carry four tight ends if he really wanted to.

Our tight ends (besides Gronk) have three catches between them but one is going to have to get injured for us to consider signing a catching and blocking beast? That's just silly

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That’s definitely the popular thought, in that he has talent and familiarity within the system.

The 3 main questions will be: 1) Is he healthy/how injured is he? 2) How good of a chance is it that another team puts in a waiver claim for him (I think there will be at least a couple), and 3) Would Belichick want him back?

Why do we need a tight end with a bad shoulder and attitude going to do for us?

We need to give Hollister a shot before he becomes the next aj derby.

supafly said:

Not only that, but I’m a bit curious as to how the relationship ended here. I’m firmly in the “he’s not coming back here” camp. I think there’s a reason why he’s been on so many teams, and that’s because he’s a headcase.

I know someone will respond with “but...Corey Dillon and Randy Moss,” but I’m not sure that Bennett would be a good locker room fit. Obviously, just my hunch and I could be wrong. We’ll know soon enough.

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I agree 100-percent. If his head was right he would've re-signed with New England instead of chasing a mirage and ultimately signing for less with the Packers, then quickly flaming out. He did put in a great effort in Gronk's absence last season but that was a matter of the stars aligning for him and the Pats for a brief period of time. Bottom line is he's a pretty odd dude; too many people here fell in love with him because he's offbeat and "funny," but that's not what makes a good Patriot.

Ochmed Jones said:

before he becomes the next aj derby.

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Until he clears waivers the situation is a bit too complicated to just put in a claim unless there is an official (or backdoor kinda) way to know the details of his shoulder injury.

The other layer to this is the question why pick up a player who already pointed out that this is his final year and then was released in a somewhat controversial way by his team midseason. Just to emphasize, it is not the release that bothers me but that he most probably is already checked out mentally. Once you talk about retirement.. you are retired.

supafly said:

Not only that, but I’m a bit curious as to how the relationship ended here. I’m firmly in the “he’s not coming back here” camp. I think there’s a reason why he’s been on so many teams, and that’s because he’s a headcase.

I know someone will respond with “but...Corey Dillon and Randy Moss,” but I’m not sure that Bennett would be a good locker room fit. Obviously, just my hunch and I could be wrong. We’ll know soon enough.

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GB cutting MB mideason is a pretty big deal considering his 2016 and past production. GB is hardly dead in the water -- they are .500 at midseason with a WC spot completely open and attainable. For GB to cut him when they need receiving targets (and blockers for the run game), there is more than just a 'his production isn't sufficient' component(s) here. Health, head case, effort -- there something here for a BFD mid season cut like this to happen.

Unless the wildly unlikely scenario of 'I'm tanking it to get out of GB and get back to the Patriots to specifically kick some ass and win another SB' (not!), MB is not coming back to the Patriots.
Who knows, maybe last year's ring coupled with the big career money he has made, it has made him lose the fire for the NFL. Maybe he wants to move onto something else. Whatever, something doesn't add up here and whatever it does add up to it isn't a return to the Patriots IMHO.

you guys really want Bennett back? He of the "if i can't have Rodgers or Brady as my QB I'm just gonna take my ball and go home""?

Bennett has been a disappointment for the packers. he has dropped way too many passes thrown right into his hands this season.