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New England Patriots: 5 Free Agents They Must Re-Sign

By James Caughlin

Feb 7, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy while standing in front of city hall during the Super Bowl LI Champions parade through downtown Boston. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 7, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy while standing in front of city hall during the Super Bowl LI Champions parade through downtown Boston. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports /
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New England Patriots
Feb 5, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; New England Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett (88) against the Atlanta Falcons during Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

4 – Martellus Bennett

Despite having the league’s most dominant tight end in Rob Gronkowski on the roster, they do not always have the most dominant tight end on the field. With that in mind, the Patriots brought in Bennett from Chicago for 2016 in the last year of his contract. While his overall production was limited, Bennett had some impressive games throughout the year. The big question remains how much of that limited production was due to his reported ankle injury or him struggling to keep up with the system.

His post Super Bowl comments about wanting to get paid suggest it will be tough to bring him back on anything other than a top of the market deal. At age 30, Bennett knows this is his last chance to get paid and will not be offering the Patriots any home town discount. For the Patriots, they need to ensure that they have an insurance policy for Gronkowski next season and Bennett represents the best option given his season with the team. The risk on their part comes from giving him a long term, big money deal and having Bennett revert to the form that saw him moved on from his other NFL teams.

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