Chicago Bears Trade Martellus Bennett to New England Patriots
Martellus Bennett is finally on the move. In a trade That was over a year in the making, Chicago Bears GM Ryan Pace shipped Martellus Bennett along with a sixth round pick to the New England Patriots for a fourth round pick. Adam Schefter of ESPN had the news first.
It has been no secret around the NFL that the Bears had enough of Bennett’s antics and wanted him gone. That was clear last spring when Bennett refused to show up at OTAs and pouted his way though minicamp. That is no way to win over new management and at that point it was obvious that Bennett’s days in Chicago were numbered, it was just a matter of when they would actually end.
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
Receiving a fourth round pick is about the best Pace could have possibly hoped for. Reports had surfaced a few weeks earlier that the Bears were actively shopping Bennett and that they would most likely release Bennett if they couldn’t find a partner. The trade also keeps Bennett off the Green Bay Packers. It was reported that the Packers would be interested if Bennett was released.
It’s an interesting move for the Patriots. Bennett gives them a potentially lethal duo with Rob Gronkowski and another legitimate weapon for Tom Brady to utlilize. However, all football fans are very familiar with the Patriot Way. One thing Bears fans know is that Martellus Bennett is not a Patriot Way guy.
Bill Belichick had had success getting guys like Corey Dillon and Randy Moss to buy in and fall in line but Bennett is different. Bennett is a me-first player that seems to only be concerned with his next paycheck and pouts if he doesn’t get his way.
Belichick will have his hands full. The first thing Bennett will most likely do when he walks into Patriot headquarters is ask for a contract extension and that’s something that Belichick isn’t going to give him right away. How Bennett handles that will be very interesting and could determine how that relationship will work over the course of the season.
The Bears have removed one more locker room headache from the roster as the culture change continued at Halas Hall. The Martellus Bennett era in Chicago is over and one thing is guaranteed, Ryan Pace and John Fox couldn’t be happier.