Market for Bennett?

[BradyFTW!]

$9M. Thing is, if they franchised Bennett, he would almost certainly agree to an extension. He is 30 years old and is at the risk of another injury or "bad chemistry" year, whereby he'd be a 31 year old FA with huge question marks and on the downside of his career.

The other side of that coin, IMO, is that we just saw a year of good soldier Bennett. If his last few stops are any indication, that guy can quickly turn into something else, and it's something that I don't particularly want on this team.

IMO, if Bennett really wants to be here, to the point that he's willing to leave money on the table to make it happen, then we should welcome him back with open arms. But if he has reservations about coming back, or if he's chasing the money, then I think it may be wisest to let him walk and target a TE high in this draft. I think the last thing we want to do is keep him here when he doesn't want to be here, because he could become a locker room cancer in a hurry. Belichick and Brady have both implied or outright stated that the locker room camaraderie on this team was as strong as they've seen, and I think you need that if you want to pull off stuff like coming back from 25 down in the Super Bowl. As good as Bennett is, I wouldn't like seeing that jeopardized to keep him here.

Granted I don't know these guys, so maybe I'm way off, but I see Bennett as a Moss type - great teammate in good times, but he may or may not stay a good teammate through adversity. OTOH, I see Hightower more like Wilfork, Seymour, McCourty, etc. - not willing to take a hometown discount, and negotiations may get contentious, but once the deal's worked out he'll go right back to being a team leader and strong, positive presence in the locker room.

 

[PatriotsPimp136]

The other side of that coin, IMO, is that we just saw a year of good soldier Bennett. If his last few stops are any indication, that guy can quickly turn into something else, and it's something that I don't particularly want on this team.

IMO, if Bennett really wants to be here, to the point that he's willing to leave money on the table to make it happen, then we should welcome him back with open arms. But if he has reservations about coming back, or if he's chasing the money, then I think it may be wisest to let him walk and target a TE high in this draft. I think the last thing we want to do is keep him here when he doesn't want to be here, because he could become a locker room cancer in a hurry. Belichick and Brady have both implied or outright stated that the locker room camaraderie on this team was as strong as they've seen, and I think you need that if you want to pull off stuff like coming back from 25 down in the Super Bowl. As good as Bennett is, I wouldn't like seeing that jeopardized to keep him here.

Granted I don't know these guys, so maybe I'm way off, but I see Bennett as a Moss type - great teammate in good times, but he may or may not stay a good teammate through adversity. OTOH, I see Hightower more like Wilfork, Seymour, McCourty, etc. - not willing to take a hometown discount, and negotiations may get contentious, but once the deal's worked out he'll go right back to being a team leader and strong, positive presence in the locker room.

I like this tight end class. I think they can get one in the 3rd round. Butt will drop because of his injury but other guys will be there. I hope we focus on defense and OL in this draft.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Seattle already has Jimmy Graham for $10M in 2017. He could be cut, sure, but if they don't, I can't imagine them shelling out big for Marty too.

The top TEs are in the $9M/year range (Gronk, Kelce, Reed). Graham is the only one to hit $10M, but that was a terrible contract when it was done a few years ago by New Orleans.

Older TEs like Marty include Greg Olsen and Jason Witten, who are just north of $7M. Marty turned down an extension for $7M/year, so figure close to $8M/year, and it might just come down to number of years.

Yeah, that's about the kind of money I'd be happy to have him back at. I think $8M is the cutoff for me - at less than that, I'd like him back; more than that, and I'd be fine seeing us let him walk. Paying $9M+ seems like a huge overpay that would probably just piss Gronk off, although maybe this will be one of those offseasons where everyone starts signing pretty good players to insane contracts that the teams will regret within half a season.

 

[goheels22002]

We got him for a 5th because he had a 5.5M contract last year that other teams were not willing to take on.

He contributed to our team, but he was not great at blocking & his injury affected his on field performance.

I give him a lot of credit for staying on the field, but his injury sure made him look like an old 30 year old.

I don't see teams paying him more than he got last year.

I sure don't want us paying him anything close to what we give Gronk.

Bennett is an excellent blocking TE. Besides Gronk, Bennett is the best at blocking on the line and downfield since Jermaine Wiggins. Wiggy was an extraordinary downfield blocker.

If the Patriots can work out a deal that fits the cap and Bennett is okay with shariong the spotlight with Gronk, I think he would be a priority. His market will be interesting to watch. You could be right that Bennett's value is less than his last contract which would make it possible for him to re-sign and make another run at a title. He should tell his agent that he only wants to play for a contender to see where that leads. It would be a waste for Bennett to wind up with another bad team.

 

[patfanken]

Yeah, there's definitely a market for him.

Giants
Ravens
Dolphins
Seattle

They might be spots for a TE, but do any of them have the cap room to get him. Remember everyone has FA of their own to sign, etc, and IIRC all the teams mentioned have a lot of high priced players already on their roster. Just look what the Giants paid last season for their defense

 

[BradyFTW!]

I like this tight end class. I think they can get one in the 3rd round. Butt will drop because of his injury but other guys will be there. I hope we focus on defense and OL in this draft.

Yeah, I'm a big fan of Jake Butt too. I feel like kind of a **** admitting it, but when he hurt his knee my first thought was "the chances of the Pats getting him just went way up." I could see us drafting him, signing a veteran TE to a short-term deal since you can't reasonably expect Butt to contribute in 2017, and then having them be our three guys going into the season.

 

[deroc5050]

He couldn't run those longer developing routes or seam routes because he wasn't fast enough. Thats not really fair because I am comparing him to Gronk.. but he in no way is worth more than 7m a year. I would give him a 3 year deal 21 million.. 12 mil guaranteed at the most.

 

[patfanken]

In the end, just how much will a team give to a 30 year old TE with decent numbers is questionable. The last TE to take the money was Thomas who went from Denver to the Jags, and has disappeared. I bet Jacksonville would like a do over on that one, and he was 27. Teams that have the cap space are teams he likely wouldn't go to. A lot of other teams already have TE's.

IMHO The Giants are a potential landing place. They have a need on offense. He played there before and liked it. He likes NYC. But do they have the space, and why didn't they sign him before for less that what he wants now.

Seattle is another spot because of his brother, but they are already paying a ton to Graham. So how much are they willing to pay for their TE's? And do they have the space?

No doubt I think he will explore the market, but I don't know how much better a deal he can get, than he can get here. Believe me our deal will be close, just like Welker's was

 

[PatriotsPimp136]

He couldn't run those longer developing routes or seam routes because he wasn't fast enough. Thats not really fair because I am comparing him to Gronk.. but he in no way is worth more than 7m a year. I would give him a 3 year deal 21 million.. 12 mil guaranteed at the most.

Idk. He was battling an injury. It's hard to grasp his play. He dissapeared in some games. I still feel like his production will go
down elsewhere. I certainly would not give him more than 8 mil

 

[varjao]

NYG will pay him 10 Mi a year.

 

[mosslost]

I know from his comments it seems like he is going for the payday. But maybe I am wrong but i dont feel there will be a huge market for him.

30 year old te, injure the last two years (ended last season in chicago pn ir). Who has somewhat of a history of being a locker room problem in dallas and chicago. I dont see teams paying big $$ for that.

I think he will go to the market, realize teams arent going to "overpay for him" and come back on a reasonable deal to the pats

Denver's board they talk about how they need a tight end. Also, they would like an opportunity to weaken the Pats.

I am sure Belichick has a plan but he did say Bennett was an off season priority earlier in the year.

 

[Jackson 2]

Do you think his production will go up elsewhere. I know he battled an injury but we have seen guys leave and their production goes down. This place has been perfect for free agents to cash in it seems. Who will be next? Floyd? Someone else they bring in for one year.

I believe he's at a stage in his life where time's getting short, he'll have his ring, he wants to get paid and I don't blame him.

 

[TomPatriot]

HT gets Collins money or near it. Bennett and Ryan leave. Butler is an rfa and he stays. Branch gets resigned.

 

[PatsBoy12]

I was saying all season that I felt he'd go for the payday. I just never viewed him as more than a rental. And then he said what he said at the end of his post game after the SB, which leads me to believe he's definitely hitting the market.

I thought he was okay. He definitely wasn't the dynamic TE that I think most of us thought and hoped we'd see. That could have been injury, or it could have been something else. One thing I did believe was that there were certain packages for the two TE's that NE was holding back until playoff time, but that obviously was impacted by Gronk going down.

Oh well. I appreciate his help. We've seen the Pats be just fine after players leave. Revis, Ayers, Casillas, etc. The two acquired players who I hope they can fit under the cap (after the bigger names) are Floyd and Van Noy. They're both young and I don't think they're even close to their respective ceilings. Van Noy was disruptive at times in the SB... very impressive.

 

[The Brandon Five]

NYG will pay him 10 Mi a year.

They don't really have that kind of cap space after the deals they made last year. They'd have to do some heavy cutting. Shedding Pugh and Cruz would free up about $16 million.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

He couldn't run those longer developing routes or seam routes because he wasn't fast enough. Thats not really fair because I am comparing him to Gronk.. but he in no way is worth more than 7m a year. I would give him a 3 year deal 21 million.. 12 mil guaranteed at the most.

He was also injured. People seem to keep forgetting how well he played when healthy early in the season.

 

[Ivan]

I don't think the Patriots will go over 6 million per and 3 years. I realize they offered him 7 but his age will reduce his value to them. Unfortunately he will leave for the money.

 

[Patsgofor4]

NYG will pay him 10 Mi a year.

They only have 23 mill in cap space, with major issues in the OL. I doubt it.

 

[Pessimistic Pete]

I don't trust this guy on his final payday contract.

Has been consistently un-Patriot like after games, quirky but accepted as he was a one-year-get-a-ring guy who while underwhelming still played a vital part of winning it all this year.

Not to mention he's injury prone and will be 30.

 

[Betterthanmost]

I am not sure about this player. I just watched a stadium footage of Brady's pick six and you can see him throwing his hands up and turning the other way as if he did not have a care at all. He was here and believed he will win a superbowl to get someone to pay him. He will be gone.