Report: Chicago Bears Attempting to Trade Martellus Bennett
It’s been a question mark since Martellus Bennett was placed on season-ending IR back in early December- would he play another game with the Chicago Bears? After a report surfaced this morning, that appears to be an emphatic “no.”
Bears and Martellus Bennett's agent, Kennard McGuire, are working together to trade the tight end to an agreeable landing spot, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 4, 2016
This tweet from Adam Schefter shouldn’t come as a surprise to many Bears fans. Bennett set this ship in motion last spring when he refused to show up to OTAs and pouted his way through minicamp. Ryan Pace expects high effort from all his players and when Bennett didn’t get his contract demands met, he pouted and put himself directly in Pace’s doghouse.
It should be noted that the “Mully and Hanley” show on 670 The Score had Bears President George McCaskey on as a guest shortly after the Schefter story and here’s how McCaskey responded:
#Bears chairman George McCaskey to @670TheScore on Martellus Bennett trade report: "That's news to me."
— Zach Zaidman (@ZachZaidman) March 4, 2016
#Bears chairman George McCaskey to @670TheScore on Bennett report: "I leave all that in the capable hands of Ryan [Pace] and John [Fox]."
— Zach Zaidman (@ZachZaidman) March 4, 2016
While the first quote might be a form of denial from McCaskey, the second quote basically tells fans, “I wouldn’t know even if we were attempting to trade him”
More from Bear Goggles On
- Franchise tag and transition tag windows open for Chicago Bears and NFL
- How the Chicago Bears can control the running back market in 2023
- The Chicago Bears can own the city of Chicago moving forward
- Chicago Bears NFL Combine Preview: Quarterback
- 7 best free agent tackle options for Chicago Bears
That leads us to the next obvious question- what can the Bears get for Bennett? Based on the fact that Bennett is a free agent after this season and has had multiple run-ins with management, don’t expect too much. If the Bears are offered a fourth round pick for Bennett they’ll do back flips. They’ll look to receive a fifth rounder for him and would probably settle on a sixth if need be. Keep in mind, if for whatever reason the market for Bennett is nil, the Bears will just cut him outright at this point. The Bennett ship has sailed.
With Bennett almost certainly off the radar, it leaves to question what the Bears tight end position will look like next year. The Bears would love to retain Zach Miller but he will be testing free agency in a very weak TE market and may get the payday he’s looking for. Dwayne Allen and Ladarius Green are also free agent options for the Bears which Pace could look at if re-signing Miller looks bleak.
The plan to trade Bennett is consistent with last year’s moves of trading Brandon Marshall and releasing Jeremiah Ratliff. If Pace thinks a player might be trouble in the locker room and might affect the team’s chemistry, he won’t be with the team any longer. Pace almost certainly considered keeping Bennett for the final year of his contract hoping he would catch lightning in a bottle and Bennett would turn in a big season for a big payday in 2017. But in the end, the risk in Pace’s eyes was too much. Bennett is gone, now the only question is when?
Next: 5 Players the Chicago Bears Must Target in Free Agency
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.