Martellus Bennett Days Until Chicago Bears Season Opener
By Andrew Poole
It’s still way too many days until the Bears kickoff the 2015 season at home against the Green Bay Packers, but until then Bear Goggles On will be counting down the days by reviewing each player on the roster. Up next is tight end Martellus Bennett.
Drafted in 2008 out of Texas A&M by Dallas, Bennett spent a couple of years buried on the Cowboys depth chart behind Jason Witten, where despite his athleticism he topped 30 catches only once in four seasons (33 in 2010).
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His talent still flashed through despite the minimal production, though, and the Giants picked him up on a one-year deal in 2012. Bennett responded with 55 catches and five touchdowns, his best year as a pro at that point in time. Following the season, the Bears inked him to a four-year deal.
Bennett has improved in each of his first two seasons with the Bears, including 90 catches, 916 yards and six touchdowns — all career highs – in 2014 for a bad Bears team. He reached his first Pro Bowl the same season.
Oct 26, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; Chicago Bears tight end Martellus Bennett (83) carries the ball as New England Patriots free safety
Devin McCourty(32) defends during the second half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
What to Expect from Martellus Bennett in 2015
Assuming Bennett stays focused, I expect him to continue to put up solid numbers, even though the team will likely shift away from throwing the ball as much as did under former coach Marc Trestman.
Bennett, of course, made headlines during the offseason by demanding a new contract, despite having two years left on his current deal with the Bears. The team correctly held firm, and Bennett ended up showing up at the mandatory minicamp held last week, though he still sounded frustrated about the situation:
“If your performance is at a high level and you’re playing to a high level, then you want to be compensated for the level that you play at,” Bennett told ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson. “I think for most people, the idea of being in a contract for not as long as they think you should because of what’s socially acceptable to the community of football, I think that’s where people get into, ‘Oh, there’s two years left.’ But most people don’t honor their damn phone contract — they switch from Sprint to T-Mobile. So I mean it’s just like being in an apartment and getting out of your lease because you want to find a better apartment or something better.”
If Bennett remains with the team – and I expect him to – he likely won’t put up the same numbers he did in 2014, where he led all tight ends in the league with 90 receptions. This isn’t a reflection on him, but is more a product of the team (again) switching its offensive philosophy to a run-first offense.
That isn’t to say that Bennett can’t or won’t put up big numbers in this scheme. In new Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase’s scheme, tight end Julius Thomas caught 90 balls in only 14 games in 2013, and 62 in 13 games in 2014, with 12 touchdowns in each season, in Denver. Bennett is certainly capable of putting up those types of numbers, but he will not have Peyton Manning throwing him the ball.
With Jay Cutler under center and all the myriad weapons around Bennett – Alshon Jeffrey, Kevin White, Eddie Royal and Matt Forte – I’m thinking Bennett could see his catches drop back into the 70s, but I also think his touchdowns will spike. Gase’s offense clearly uses the tight end more in the red zone, so Bennett should see the benefit from that philosophy in 2015.
Next: So, the Cutlers Don’t Think Chicago Is Home – Get Over It!