Patriots claim Martellus Bennett
- Thread starter Red Averages
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Former Packer. TE. 50+ games played. 22 catches. Retired for a few years. Moral compass extraordinaire.
"Who is Tom Crabtree?"
It's interesting but in the interview, he talks about having conversations with other teams and not wanting to be claimed and I wonder if he wanted to be a free agent.
That would kind of make sense, but it sounds like he's just as happy ending up playing for the minimum in Foxboro for the rest of the year.
The part that doesn't make sense in the story is why the Packers cut him. The idea that he's a "liar" based on his deciding to play injured in New England is not something they knew when they cut him. Who knows what the truth is, but his story is going to be that he opted to have the surgery as a Packer, they cut him, and lied about him, and when he got claimed he was like, "fuck it, I'll play hurt."
Who knows if the Packers really will go after the bonus. I would think the fact that he played last night gives him some ammunition but hopefully the NFLPA has his back.
That would kind of make sense, but it sounds like he's just as happy ending up playing for the minimum in Foxboro for the rest of the year.
The part that doesn't make sense in the story is why the Packers cut him. The idea that he's a "liar" based on his deciding to play injured in New England is not something they knew when they cut him. Who knows what the truth is, but his story is going to be that he opted to have the surgery as a Packer, they cut him, and lied about him, and when he got claimed he was like, "fuck it, I'll play hurt."
Who knows if the Packers really will go after the bonus. I would think the fact that he played last night gives him some ammunition but hopefully the NFLPA has his back.
Basically exactly what he said post game. The actual quote was "fuck it, let's go ball"
Right -- I saw some of that and was just summarizing.
The whole thing is kind of weird. I hope he goes off the rest of the season.
The whole thing is kind of weird. I hope he goes off the rest of the season.
In a world of non-guaranteed contracts, such as his years 2 and 3, I feel no sympathy for the NFL team. Tough shit.
Boomer was on T&R this morning ranting about this, and of course Felger and his idiot side kick had a take on it too. And, a quick perusal of a few message boards from other teams and this is now the "Pats are cheaters!!!!!" Story du jour.
Seems pretty simple, he wasn't willing to play hurt once Rodgers went down, but is willing to play hurt for the Pats for the chance to win again. 29 (or whatever) other teams could have claimed him off of waivers but didn't. Maybe instead of ranting about cheaters people would take a second to ask themselves why Bennett, who already announced he was retiring and isn't playing for his next contract, would be willing to play hurt again for the Pats but not for other teams.
Seems pretty simple, he wasn't willing to play hurt once Rodgers went down, but is willing to play hurt for the Pats for the chance to win again. 29 (or whatever) other teams could have claimed him off of waivers but didn't. Maybe instead of ranting about cheaters people would take a second to ask themselves why Bennett, who already announced he was retiring and isn't playing for his next contract, would be willing to play hurt again for the Pats but not for other teams.
Going to go out on a limb and guess the compensatory pick formula didnt come up as a topic on any of these shows despite the fact that it might help explain both the timing of the release from the Packers and why no one else claimed Bennett?
If I was a Packer fan, I would probably be annoyed. They signed him in the off season with a decent signing bonus for three years. Rodgers gets hurt and all of a sudden he's talking retirement and now cannot practice. He quit on them.
I understand his reasoning especially for this season but he still quit and I'd be a little aggravated.
Of course I'd be pissed at the team as well. They signed him, gave him a physical and are now trying to say he didn't disclose the injury. That just seems petty. I think a good organization puts him on IR and tries to persuade to come back the next year. They may even get him to keep playing this year and not throw in the towel as soon as the QB goes down.
I understand his reasoning especially for this season but he still quit and I'd be a little aggravated.
Of course I'd be pissed at the team as well. They signed him, gave him a physical and are now trying to say he didn't disclose the injury. That just seems petty. I think a good organization puts him on IR and tries to persuade to come back the next year. They may even get him to keep playing this year and not throw in the towel as soon as the QB goes down.
https://www.patspulpit.com/2017/11/9/16628040/patriots-4th-round-compensatory-pick-martellus-bennett-jeopardy-make-jimmy-garoppolo-trade-important
So claiming a player who might go on IR didnt necessarily make a lot of sense for teams with comp picks. For the Pats, since they were going to lose the comp pick for Bennett whether they claimed him or he cleared waivers, the cost of claiming him was lower.
Miguel also said that two of the comp pick gurus that have studied this suggest releasing Bennett before week 10 excluded him from the Packers comp pick formula.
So claiming a player who might go on IR didnt necessarily make a lot of sense for teams with comp picks. For the Pats, since they were going to lose the comp pick for Bennett whether they claimed him or he cleared waivers, the cost of claiming him was lower.
Miguel also said that two of the comp pick gurus that have studied this suggest releasing Bennett before week 10 excluded him from the Packers comp pick formula.
I think the problem here is that the Packers didn't just cut him but they cut him with a "failure to disclose" designation. That's pretty rare in the NFL. That means they are saying he lied when they signed him. That's kind of bullshit. They were reserving the right to try to get cap space by calling him a liar when they had the opportunity to give him a physical. They called him dishonest before they even knew that he would try to play for the Patriots or some other team. They made the decision to cut him. They easily could have cut him at the beginning of next year. They tried to save a few bucks (and maybe a comp pick), and then to wave a sabre around about possibly trying to get cap relief. Screw them. Cut the player or don't. If you do, you take whatever consequence cutting him has.
I agree, and also I suspect that the point quoted above goes right over the head of the average fan. The Packers let him down just as much as he did them.
If the Packers thought enough of Marty to sign him to a 3 year deal, wouldn't they try a bit harder to persuade him to stick around? Note, we have no idea whether they did or not as it is now Marty's word against theirs. I guess we can now add the Packers to the list of teams whose fans hate the Pats, especially if Marty lights it up the rest of the season.
Edit: DDB's point around cutting him and calling him a liar at the same time is pretty aggressive behavior by the Packers. Pretty much guarantees he will hate them / be extra motivated.
Yeah, they're acting as if the deck isn't already stacked so heavily in the team's favor that it looks like the casino in Rick's American Cafe. So the player manipulated things to his advantage once in a blue moon. The score is still heavily tilted.
my only nit to pick with Bennett was him trashing the GB medical staff. Probably unnecessary. And if his injury really is the "needs surgery, but can still play" variety, then I'm not sure they did him wrong, unless they said, "there's nothing wrong with you at all," which is doubtful (but, to be sure, not impossible).
Unless they said he absolutely needed surgery right away to help their case in clawing back his signing bonus...
How can GB win their case if he plays through the injury the rest of the season? Amazing they actually waived him - maybe not though when you realize how little talent they surround Rodgers with every year.
How can GB win their case if he plays through the injury the rest of the season? Amazing they actually waived him - maybe not though when you realize how little talent they surround Rodgers with every year.
The GB medical staff is the GB organization. They are one and the same. If GB lied and said he failed to disclose a prior injury, then the GB medical staff lied. Not only were they dishonest, they were dishonest so that they could try to steal his money from him. Fuck them. They (both Green Bay and the Green Bay medical staff) did him wrong.
I made the mistake of reading the Yahoo comments on a recent Martellus Bennett article. Apparently this all happened because he is a lying *!$$#% like his brother and it was all orchestrated by the Cheatriots. Dear god please remind me to never read the fucking comments again.
