Patriots: Michael Bennett retiring reminds fans how bad that trade truly was

Remember Michael Bennett’s tenure with the Patriots? Yeah, it was bad.

The Philadelphia Eagles acquired Michael Bennett from the Seattle Seahawks back in 2018 and the veteran enjoyed a nine-sack campaign with the team. However, Philly had to clear cap space the following offseason, so the New England Patriots went ahead and made a deal with the Eagles to bring Bennett to Foxborough.

Bennett, a three-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champ, announced his retirement on Tuesday after bouncing around between three teams in his final two seasons. The Patriots thought they could still get production from the defensive end, but that was far from the case.

In surprising fashion, Bill Belichick wasted a fifth-round pick (though he did get a seventh-rounder in return) for Bennett, who played in just six games with the Pats, before trading him to the Dallas Cowboys for a conditional seventh-round pick.

Over that span, Bennett was outspoken about how he was under-utilized, and even got into a “philosophical disagreement” with defensive line coach Bret Bielema, which led to a one-game suspension. He was traded to Dallas about a week later.

Why did the Patriots think trading for a player of Bennett’s character and fearlessness and then barely playing him was a good idea? He never logged more than 40% of the snaps on defense, and the tipping point for his suspension came when he was on the field for 11 plays vs the Giants in Week 6. He played barely over 30% of the snaps through seven weeks.

The former Seahawks star values himself and takes pride in his play, but Belichick seemingly tried to have things his way and force Bennett to be a cog in New England’s machine. Square pegs don’t fit in round holes.

The Seahawks and Eagles dealt Bennett to save money despite the veteran logging impressive campaigns in 2017 and 2018. The man was playing with a chip on his shoulder, clearly feeling like he had to prove himself despite already doing so. Giving him less playing time clearly wasn’t the recipe to make Bennett feel like he was welcome.

Let’s also not forget the Pats traded for a prototypical 4-3 defensive end and just assumed he’d fit right into a 3-4 scheme. It’s safe to say Belichick outsmarted himself with this deal.

Patriots fans should be wishing Bennett the best in his retirement, and instead blame the team for making a move they clearly had no plan to properly execute.