New England Patriots: Martellus Bennett retires from NFL
Former New England Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett has announced his retirement from the NFL.
Earlier this offseason the New England Patriots waived tight end, Martellus Bennett. The Patriots would end up being the last organization that Bennett played for, as he announced his retirement from the NFL.
Bennett was a second-round pick, No. 61 overall, by the Dallas Cowboys in 2008. Bennett was stuck behind the legendary Jason Witten in Dallas, leaving him with few opportunities to showcase his talents.
Bennett spent the first four seasons of his career with the Cowboys. He did not get a chance to showcase his skills until the 2012 season when he signed with the New York Giants as a free agent. It ended up being a great move for Bennett.
Bennett played 91.2 percent of the offensive snaps with the Giants that season. He made the most of his first opportunity at real playing time. With the Giants, Bennett caught 55 passes for 626 yards and five touchdowns.
Bennett parlayed that season into a nice contract in free agency with the Chicago Bears. Bennett signed a four-year deal worth just over $20 million. It was a signing that worked out for both sides, as Bennett had two of the best seasons in his career with Chicago.
In 2014 he had a career season, catching 90 passes for 916 yards and six touchdowns. He made his only Pro Bowl team that season as well.
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He struggled in 2015 with injuries, playing in only 11 games. Chicago was beginning to clear house by that time, and Bennett was traded. The Patriots acquired Bennett, and again he made the most of an opportunity.
Bennett and Rob Gronkowski formed a strong 1-2 punch for the Patriots at tight end. When Gronkowski’s season was ended prematurely because of injury, the Patriots had a more than capable option to turn to in Bennett.
With the Patriots, Bennett caught 55 passes for 701 yards and a career-high seven touchdowns. He helped the Patriots win the Super Bowl that season despite Gronkowski going down.
Bennett hit free agency once again and looked like he cashed in. He landed a three-year, $21 million deal with the Green Bay Packers. He was going from catching passes from Tom Brady to Aaron Rodgers. You can’t really ask for more than that as a pass catcher. However, things didn’t work out with Green Bay.
Green Bay waived Bennett last season with a designation that he did not disclose an injury to them. He was waived with the intention of being placed on injured reserve, but the Patriots swooped in and claimed him.
Bennett played in two games with the Patriots before they placed him on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. Green Bay attempted to get back some of Bennett’s signing bonus, but their grievance was turned down by an arbitrator, but the team is planning to appeal.
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With his football career now seemingly behind him, Bennett can focus his work elsewhere. That focus will go toward his company mentioned in his retirement tweet creates content for children.