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After Chicago Bears tight end Martellus Bennett missed OTAs, a lot of speculation was made about what type of lengthy holdout to expect from the veteran pass catcher. Bennett was coming off a tremendous season, nabbing 90 balls for 916 yards and finding the end zone six times.
Bennett has two years remaining on his contract and has made it clear to new GM Ryan Pace that he wants a new deal. He has zero security on his existing contract and wants an agreement that will net him more guaranteed money, but Pace has shown very little interest in obliging that request. After making no progress with Pace in the previous months, Bennett neglected to attend OTAs.
When the Bears’ mandatory minicamp was approaching there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding Bennett and if he would attend. Any absence would officially start a holdout and questions would begin if said holdout would continue into training camp in July. But as minicamp began, Bennett arrived right on time.
Bennett knows he has very little leverage with a new general manager in place and missing any required practices was just going to upset coaches, cost him money in fines and get him nowhere. Bennett is going to have to prove himself in Adam Gase‘s new offense and force Pace to give him a new deal before the 2016 season.
There shouldn’t be any concern if Bennett can pick up the new offense, even though he is already behind his teammates in the learning curve. Bennett is a pro and should be able to pick up any new offense relatively easily. The concern needs to be over Bennett’s attitude.
Bennett has been rusty and dropped several balls during minicamp; he seems to have very little interest in being there. He offered the media no insight into his future with the Bears except to say to expect him at training camp in July but added that “there’s always a possibility that he won’t be [there].” Bennett has barely talked to John Fox or Pace and doesn’t seem too interested in getting to know his new bosses.
Pace has made it very clear that he wants no sideshows around this team. He traded Brandon Marshall and didn’t even consider re-signing Lance Briggs. He wants guys who want to help the football team any way they can and always put the team first. Bennett certainly doesn’t fit that mold.
Bennett is an asset, and releasing him or trading him for a low-level draft pick is not going to help the on-field product. But at this point it’s safe to say that there is no guarantee that Bennett will be all-in by September, and a lackadaisical attitude is certainly not going to help his production.
What is Bennett’s end game? That’s a little confusing as coming to minicamp with a disinterested attitude is certainly not going to get you a new contract. With two years remaining on his deal, the Bears can keep the disgruntled tight end much longer than Bennett may want to stick around. If Bennett’s plan is to pout until the Bears cut him, he may get his wish, but forcing your way off a franchise certainly isn’t going to land you a more lucrative contract from another team.
Bennett is a Bear for now; whether he will be Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers may be more of a question with Bennett now in attendance than it was when he was missing.
Bill Zimmerman is a featured writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter or like him on Facebook.
