Professional career Martellus Bennett

1 professional career

1.1 pre-draft
1.2 dallas cowboys

1.2.1 2008 season
1.2.2 2010 season
1.2.3 2011 season


1.3 new york giants
1.4 chicago bears

1.4.1 2013 season
1.4.2 2014 season
1.4.3 2015 season


1.5 new england patriots
1.6 green bay packers
1.7 new england patriots (second stint)

professional career
pre-draft

at 2008 nfl scouting combine, bennett finished 40-yard dash in 4.68 seconds, ranking seventh out of 8 tight ends in group. ranked third in vertical jump (34 inches) , fifth in broad jump (9–9). along 30 other prospects, invited dallas cowboys valley ranch headquarters predraft visit on april 17–18, 2008.

a week prior draft, associated press sportswriter critiqued bennett s playing abilities as: played basketball aggies well, , has athletic ability nice red-zone target. lack of speed means he’s not deep threat, once improves routes, strength , size should make him asset. needs improve zone recognition, too. good, aggressive blocker.

dallas cowboys
2008 season

after trading former second-round draft choice anthony fasano, cowboys selected bennett in second round (61st overall) of 2008 nfl draft. according cowboys owner jerry jones, bennett selected not because needed backup tight end, add new dimension being part of two-tight-end offense. in 2008 preseason, bennett learned technique tight end jason witten. during preseason camps, documentary series hard knocks portrayed martellus lazy , unmotivated player. although bennett having trouble learning cowboys offense, worked hard improve, later episodes of hard knocks showed.

he agreed four-year contract team on july 24. given number-two tight end position on tony curtis. bennett finished rookie season 20 receptions 283 yards , 4 touchdowns.

before start of second season, cincinnati bengals offered future first-round draft choice in exchange bennett, cowboys declined. in 2009, regressed receiver, compiling 15 catches 159 yards , no touchdowns.

2010 season

in january 2010 news conference following season, jerry jones indicated while bennett had breakout potential, needed put in focus meet it. still, concern being pushed in preseason backup job john phillips, until phillips lost season acl tear. in 2010, bennett recorded career-high 33 catches, 260 yards , no touchdowns.

2011 season

during time cowboys, brought attention himself making controversial quotes , youtube videos. raising eyebrows black olympics video or radio interview, stated backup quarterback jon kitna deserved chance compete starting job, after filling in injured tony romo during 2010 season. had injury-plagued preseason in 2011, injured hamstring , right high ankle strain, keeping him out of 2 of 4 preseason games , 2 regular-season games, finishing year 17 catches 144 yards , no touchdowns.

although never realize playmaking potential second-string tight end behind witten, did develop excellent blocker. before start of 2012 season, cowboys offered similar free agent deal 1 received new york giants, decided leave dallas, have opportunity start.

new york giants

on march 14, 2012, signed one-year, $2.5 million contract giants. after weight ballooned 295 pounds in off season, when asked conditioning during interview, responded: m stronger ve ever been, m faster ve ever been. run day. m kind of black unicorn out there . in regular season, got weight under control , recorded 55 receptions 626 yards , 5 touchdowns in lone season giants, while playing through different injuries.

chicago bears
2013 season

on march 12, bennett signed four-year deal chicago bears. bennett concluded 2013 season career-high 65 receptions , 759 yards. 65 receptions tied eighth in league among tight ends, , second-highest in team history, behind mike ditka s 75 in 1964. 759 yards tied ninth in yards, while bennett tied 12th in touchdowns among tight ends.

2014 season

on august 5, bennett suspended team after slamming teammate kyle fuller ground after fuller had violently grabbed him helmet. bennett reinstated on august 10. in week 12 against cowboys, bennett recorded 77th catch of year, surpassing mike ditka receptions tight end in bears history. finished season 90 receptions 916 yards , 6 touchdowns. on january 19, 2015, bennett named 2015 pro bowl, replacing new england patriots tight end rob gronkowski.

2015 season

bennett held out during team s voluntary offseason program on contract dispute, reported minicamp avoid potential fines. on november 22, bennett injured ribs during week 11 s matchup against denver broncos. bennett limited in practice on november 24, 2015. on november 25, bears announced bennett ruled out of week 12 s matchup against green bay packers. returned action in overtime loss san francisco 49ers, had leave field after taking hit in third quarter , aggravating injury, before returning finish game. on december 9, placed on injured reserve list. @ time, leading team 53 receptions, had 439 receiving yards (ranking third on team).

bennett s relationship teammates, coaches, , general manager deteriorated through 2015 season. bennett voiced displeasure tenure bears. openly criticized jay cutler s on-field play in interview espn magazine , claiming i’d open , he’d throw double coverage . later derided ex-teammates morale , work ethic calling them bunch of bitches in interview e:60.

adam gase, bennett s former offensive coordinator in chicago, described coaching him, “the challenges marty brought me he’s intelligent, , asks lot of questions.”

new england patriots

on march 16, 2016, bennett traded along sixth-round draft pick (#204-jordan lucas) in 2016 nfl draft new england patriots in exchange fourth-round pick (#127-deiondre hall) in 2016 nfl draft . reported in media patriots trying recreate success experienced two-tight end offense employed rob gronkowski–aaron hernandez tandem in 2011 , 2012.

in first 5 weeks, bennett efficient patriots receiver on field, reeling in 21 receptions 314 yards , 4 touchdowns, including 3 touchdown effort in tom brady s return in week 5 against cleveland browns.

after gronkowski placed on injured reserve list in december, bennett became patriots no. 1 tight end. finished regular season playing in 16 games 12 starts recording 55 receptions 701 yards , career-high 7 touchdowns. 397 yards after catch ranked no. 2 among nfl tight ends in 2016. during season, forced play hurt, while battling ankle , shoulder injuries, required him undergo offseason ankle surgery repair cracked bone.

in patriots divisional round win on houston texans, injured left knee in fourth quarter, injury have deal until end of playoffs.

on february 5, 2017, bennett part of patriots team won super bowl li. in game, recorded 5 catches 62 yards patriots defeated atlanta falcons score of 34–28 in overtime. in overtime, drew pass interference penalty in end zone, giving patriots ball @ two-yard line, setting james white s touchdown run 2 plays later. patriots had trailed 28–3 in third quarter, rallied win game. game marked first overtime , largest comeback in super bowl history.

green bay packers

on march 10, 2017, bennett signed green bay packers on three-year, $21 million contract after team unable reach agreement jared cook, left oakland raiders. on september 10, in packers debut, bennett had 3 receptions 43 yards in 17–9 victory on seattle seahawks. waived packers on november 8, 2017, citing failure disclose medical condition designation.

new england patriots (second stint)

on november 9, 2017, bennett claimed off waivers new england patriots. on november 10, day after being claimed, revealed diagnosed tears in both rotator cuff , labrum in shoulder, requiring bennett undergo physical before legitimately join team. bennett claimed packers had lied failure disclose injuries, , active first game patriots, on november 12 against denver broncos. on november 27, 2017, patriots placed bennett on injured reserve due shoulder , hamstring injuries.