It's been an interesting year for New England Patriots Tight End Martellus Bennett to say the least.
Bennett signed with the Green Bay Packers this past off season in what many believed would be a huge boost to an already stacked offense lead by Super Bowl-winning quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Tight End was recently cut by the Packers after "failure to disclose an injury."
He planned to get surgery to fix the injury and proceeded to criticize the Packers' medical staff, which triggered some blowback from longtime Packers players. In a shocking twist of events, Bennett was picked up off waivers by the Patriots and did not need surgery anymore - instead playing in in Sunday's game after practicing Friday and passing a physical.
After picking up a win in Denver with the Patriots, Bennett described how he magically went from needing surgery, to getting cleared to play for New England (quotes via NFL.com):
"After trying to get [the shoulder surgically] fixed and getting waived, you've got that vengeance in your heart like, 'All right, that's how you're going to do it? [Expletive] it, let's go ball,'" Bennett said, via the Boston Herald.
Bennett claimed he seriously planned on getting surgery and even told his agent to urge teams not to pick him up off waivers. When Patriots' head coach Bill Belichick came calling, however, he couldn't say no:
"It's not about, 'Could you play?' It's, 'Should you play?' It was one of those things," Bennett said. "Right now, I'm just like, [expletive] it.
"At first, I told my agent to tell no teams to claim me because I was still trying to get the surgery. So when Bill called and said they claimed me, I was like, 'No [expletive] way.'"
Some believe that Bennett purposely got himself out of Green Bay after Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers went down with a collar bone injury for the season, all but ending Green Bay's chances at a Super Bowl run:
"I got criticism from all from my former organization," Bennett said. "[Expletive] at this point I am rubber and you are glue.
"Anything you say bounces off me and sticks to you. So, at this point, there is nothing anyone else can say to me in my career to make me feel anyway towards myself.
"The team that I will always have, that will always be there, my wife and daughter are always rooting for me now matter what. I may wear different jerseys but I am still the same man to my family.
"That's all that really matters. Like I told the guys, in order for a phoenix to be reborn he must first turn to ashes."
What are your thoughts on Bennett wanting vengeance against Green Bay for cutting him while he was nursing an injury? Do you think he will be a vital part of New England's offense moving forward opposite Rob Gronkowski? And did the Packers make a mistake in letting him go? Let us know your thoughts on the matter in the comments section below!
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