Is Green Bay really complaining? Correct me if I am wrong, but they could have IR'ed him and let him get his surgery, true? Instead THEY tried to save themselves a few bucks and cut him, claiming an undisclosed injury (which seems to have been disclosed), thereby trying to recoup even more, and leave their player without a paycheck. Seems like Green Bay, like Pittsburgh before them, tried to screw a player who ended up with the last laugh. The Patriots are guilty of following the waiver wire rules, nothing else.
Can you really blame Marty for how he handled this? At some point he needs surgery on the shoulder, that much seems clear. If you are (perceived anyway) on a team going nowhere because you lost your Hall of Fame QB for the year, why not shut it down, get the surgery ASAP, then see if you can come back next year. On the other hand, if you are claimed by a team that is still in it, why not play through it? I'm not so sure he shot his way out of town as much as he took advantage of the cards he was dealt. No where does it say that he asked for his release.
You are right on the money here, Deb. People seem to forget or choose to ignore the key issue here. The ONLY issue the GB front office is complaining about is the non- disclosure of a shoulder injury.
This seems specious on the surface because they supposedly did a complete physical of the guy before they signed him. (Xrays, MRI's etc) Besides even a casual Pats FANS knew he ended the season with a shoulder problem he played through. If we knew about it, how did it seem to slip by their medical people.
If non-disclosure is GB's only issue then I seriously doubt they will see any of their bonus money back. I think they were pissed about the entire Bennett situation and are doing this to try and save face with both the league and their own fans. It will amount to nothing in the end.
Now I don't think Marty made the right PR choice to attack that medical staff. Clearly this was a situation where he COULD have played up there. He just didn't see the point. At this point of his career, I don't blame him. Also, for whatever reason, he was having a bad year in GB, so it was probably clear to him that GB would get rid of him at the end of the year anyway. None of the rest of his money is guaranteed. So like Jeremy Hill, if he gets the surgery now, he'd likely be fully healthy by the start of FA if he chose to play another year.
Remember too that it was GB who cut him, rather than let him get the surgery and prepare for next year. There was NEVER going to be a next year for Marty Bennett in GB. I thought the Pats should have let him get through waivers and save that comp pick, but maybe they thought the Steelers would have taken a shot at him. We will never know.
Well anyway. We all know that Marty is a "different dude". He's not a great locker room fit everywhere. But he IS a good fit here. I doubt very much he'll ever get more than 20 snaps in a game. I put it at 50-50 that he lasts until the playoffs.
But while he remains on the active roster, even in a limited role, he makes this team better. I don't think anyone questions that fact. So here's hoping he beats the odds and plays the last 7-10 games of this season and gives us depth and options for the offense. Based on the seven snaps he got last Sunday, he's off to a great start.