NFL Rumors: New England Patriots Have Best Offense After Acquiring Martellus Bennett From Chicago Bears
NFL rumors have been swirling around Martellus Bennett since the season ended. He made it known that he was not happy with the Chicago Bears, because they did not want to sign him to a long-term contract extension. A new home in the National Football League was going to be found via trade. The New England Patriots shocked the sports world by making it happen. According to NFL.com, the move might have given the Patriots the best offense in football.
When the New England Patriots had Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski on the field at the same time, NFL teams found it extremely difficult to defend them. Linebackers and safeties had to take steps backward, because they were concerned that Hernandez and Gronkowski would burn them deep, so that opened up the running lanes for the ground attack. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady enjoyed having those two weapons, but it all ended when Hernandez decided that he wanted to spend the rest of his life in prison.
As soon as Aaron Hernandez went to prison for murder, the New England Patriots attempted to find a suitable replacement. They haven’t been really successful in their attempts. Martellus Bennett would be their best option since Hernandez. Rob Gronkowski is a beast of a man at six-foot-six. Hernandez was able to terrorize at just six-foot-one. Bennett is a skyscraper at six-foot-six, so that means that the Patriots will have two mismatches in the middle of the field.
In the NFL, you generally use your outside wide receivers to stretch the field so that the interior will be open for the tight ends, slot receivers, and running backs. The New England Patriots might be doing the opposite. Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett can run fly routes and be weapons that way. That would open up the short routes for possession wide receivers such as Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, and the recently acquired Chris Hogan.
Dion Lewis came out of nowhere and became a budding star in the NFL, something that Bill Belichick has been able to do for the New England Patriots a couple of times. Lewis suffered a torn ACL, but expectations are high for the running back this season. With the addition of Martellus Bennett, there’s a chance that Lewis might be even more of a threat. Defenses are going to be on their heels because of Bennett and Rob Gronkowski, so those running lanes will be opening up for Dion.
At 29, Martellus Bennett is looking for one final big payday in free agency. His contract with the New England Patriots is only for another season. While it’s true that it will be difficult for him to put up big numbers because the Patriots have so many weapons on offense, Bennett might be motivated by money and play better than the other players. Martellus isn’t going to beat Rob Gronkowski in stats, but he can be one of the better offensive performers for New England.
Very few people thought that Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace was going to be able to get something for Martellus Bennett. The damage had been done, and NFL teams were aware of the desperation. What those teams didn’t realize was that Bill Belichick was willing to gamble and give the New England Patriots a potentially big advantage over other teams in the National Football League.
No one really knows what Martellus Bennett is going to provide the New England Patriots. If his head is not right, then he floats through a season with the team and enters free agency, hoping that an NFL team will give him a chance. However, if Bennett is motivated, then the Patriots become that much more dangerous.
[Photo by Sean M Haffey/Getty Images]
