It’s only a matter of time now. With the Chicago Bears locking down Zach Miller on a two-year contract on Monday, it officially marked the end of the Martellus Bennett era in Chicago. Yes, Bennett is still on the roster, but he won’t be for long. The Bears have been shopping Bennett the last few weeks in hopes of landing a draft pick for the disgruntled tight end. But at this point, even if the Bears can’t find a trade partner, a reality that is becoming more possible with each passing day, he will not be on the roster in 2016.
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Before the Miller signing, there had been a chance, albeit a small one, that Bennett may have survived the offseason. If Miller had left for greener pastures, with the tight end market drying up as quickly as it did, there was a small chance that Ryan Pace would have kept Bennett for one more season because he simply wouldn’t have any other options. Pace clearly can drive a hard bargain. In this case, he sits down Bennett and says that 2016 is a contract year for him and he has two choices: one, pout his way through the season and get a weak offer in 2017, or two, bust his hump, have a great season, and find himself receiving a lucrative offer in 2017. While this possibility was small, it was definitely something that Pace would have had to consider had Miller gone elsewhere.
That is all irrelevant at this point. Miller has signed on the dotted line. While Miller certainly doesn’t fit into the Bears long-term plans, he certainly is a capable pass catcher and one that had great chemistry with Jay Cutler in 2015. With Miller slated in at the starting slot, the Bears re-signed Rob Housler, who they picked up last December when Bennett was put on season-ending injured reserve, to serve as Miller’s back-up. The Bears also have blocking specialist Khari Lee on the roster to fill out the tight end position.
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While that’s not exactly a dynamic trio, it is a capable group that can get the Bears through 2016. Obviously, Miller’s health is critical, but Housler isn’t the worst pass target for Cutler if Miller ended up on the shelf for any length of time. You can expect Pace to find some competition at the tight end position and bring a couple veterans (or perhaps a rookie) into camp to compete for a potential roster spot.
Regardless of what Pace decides to do at this point, he has made up his decision on Bennett. The contracts of Miller and Housler combined are still $1 million less than Bennett’s salary. In essence, re-signing Miller doesn’t eat up any cap space, in fact, it saves the Bears a little money. That will give the Bears enough remaining cap space to sign some help in the secondary and bring in a few more one-year, prove it type deals that Pace really likes to utilize.
With the 2016 roster coming into form, you can expect Pace to start focusing more of his attention on moving Bennett and trying to land a draft pick for him. That may not be an easy thing to do. Teams know Bennett only has one year remaining on his deal and the Bears are ready to move on. Most teams would be willing to roll the dice that he isn’t traded, eventually released and teams won’t have to give the Bears any draft compensation.
Regardless of where Bennett ends up in 2016, it’s certain he won’t be on the Bears. Ryan Pace continues to clean house, especially of players that are potential headaches in the locker room. Pace is putting his stamp on this team, and when Bennett is officially gone in the near future, that will be even more evident.
Bill Zimmerman is an editor and featured writer for FanSided‘s BearGogglesOn. Like his Facebook page or follow him on Twitter for more news and interaction.