FOXBOROUGH -- Get ready for the return of Martellus Bennett and the Imagination Agency.
The mercurial tight end was claimed off waivers by the Patriots on Thursday, one day after he was cut loose by Green Bay.
The 30-year-old, who spent last season with New England, caught 55 passes for 701 yards and seven touchdowns for the Patriots last year. He signed with the Packers this past offseason as a free agent.
The move was first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter.
BSJ analysis from Bedard
I love it when Bill Belichick listens to me (lol).
So, yes, after seemingly being the only media member banging the drum for a tight end at the trade deadline (I thought I was crazy for a while), the Patriots made a similar move by claiming Bennett from the Packers when he fell out of the sky.
Let's dig into this.
Why a tight end?
From the column:
“I’ve just got to go out there and just be on top of my game the whole time,” tight end Rob Gronkowski said when he was asked what he thought he didn’t do well on Sunday. “Some plays here and there I do good. And others, I feel like I just don’t have it for that one. I’ve just to play all four quarters, every play, to the max.”
... It’s interesting Gronkowski was so self-reflective in the postgame press conference, because at one point during the game, when he didn’t corral a few catchable balls, I thought, “Gronk looks like he’s worn out. He’s not Gronk right now.” Gronkowski also appeared fatigued — more than the usual post-game tiredness — in that press conference.
The truth is that this has been going on for a few games. Gronkowski certainly has his moments where he shows that he’s the best tight end in the game, especially in the passing game. Even Gronk at 75 percent is better than any other tight end in the NFL.
But there have been subtle signs that he’s having some issues. His blocking work has been adequate — even very good for a play here or there — but more often than not, his blocking has been subpar for him, especially when it comes to sustaining blocks in the run game.
I don’t think this about Gronkowski’s compete level or his interest in doing the dirty work associated with the position. I think the Patriots have asked too much of him, and they better find a way to get him some help before the trade deadline or he might not last the season.
- Since Julian Edelman's injury, teams have keyed their coverage on Gronkowski more than ever, and it's harder for him to make uncontested catches. He has to work for almost every catch.
- The offensive tackles have been so poor that Gronkowski has been asked to do more in the blocking game as well. Dwayne Allen was supposed to lend a huge hand in this area, but he's failed to this point as well.
- The Patriots had absolutely nothing at the position beyond Gronkowski. Allen is in the doghouse, and Brady won't even look at him anymore. Jacob Hollister is a developmental player who can catch the occasional pass, but he's not close to ready to play major snaps, and he can't block at this stage. That meant, if Gronkowski went down at any point, the Patriots were screwed more than ever before. At least now, with Bennett here, the Patriots still have a chance to function as an offense — they won a Super Bowl without Gronkowski last year — but that's less certain without Edelman. They might still be screwed.
If a team were to claim Bennett on waivers, they would then become responsible for 8/17th of his 2017 $900,000 salary ($423,529) and his $37,500 46-man roster bonuses ($300,000 for a team who has had their bye and $262,500 for a team whose bye is upcoming). The claiming team would also be responsible for his:
2018 salary of $3.6 million
2018 $2 million roster bonus
2018 $250,000 offseason workout bonus
2018 46-man roster bonuses ($37,500 per active game)
2019 salary of $5.65 million
2019 $250,000 offseason workout bonus
2019 46-man roster bonuses ($37,500 per active game)
But since none of his 2018 or 2019 is guaranteed, his claiming team could simply cut before his 2018 roster bonus is due on March 16 and have no dead money on their salary cap.
Let’s say that the Patriots were to claim Bennett tomorrow his 2018 cap hit would be $723,529. The net impact on the cap may be less if the Pats cut a player whose salary is not guaranteed to make room on the 53-man roster. Let’s say that the Pats waive Jacob Hollister. The Pats would not be responsible for 8/17ths of his $465,000 salary or $218,824. So, in this case, a Bennett for Hollister swap would result in net cap decrease of just over $500K.
The Packers waiving of Martellus Bennett may have an impact on the Patriots 2018 compensatory picks. Adamjt13, the original comp pick guru and Nick Korte, the current comp pick guru, have both opined that players released before the completion of Week 10 have not counted in the compensatory pick calculations. If this holds true for Bennett in 2018 and he’s not being claimed on waivers, it would mean that the Patriots would not get a fifth-round compensatory pick for losing Bennett during the offseason. The Packers would still get four comp picks but they would improve their haul from a third-round pick, two fifth-round selections and a sixth, to a third and three fifth-rounders.
Q: Can the Patriots claim Bennett on waivers and still get a fifth-round pick for him?
A: No. Bennett would not then be considered a lost free agent for the Patriots.
- McGinn said Bennett repeatedly dogged it in training camp (he didn't do that with the Patriots), and raised the possibility that after getting his Super Bowl ring, he was only in it for the money and didn't want to be in Green Bay or play anymore.
- "Upon watching Bennett run a series of routes, it gradually started to sink in that he couldn’t run at all anymore. The reason why the Packers almost never threw to Bennett down the middle against Cover 2 or on a vertical seam route was he no longer had the speed to get open."
- "In seven games, Bennett finished with 24 receptions for 233 yards, a 9.7 average and no touchdowns. He dropped six of 38 targeted throws, a drop rate of 15.8%. He also was charged with three “bad” runs and one sack. His hand was down on 31.8% of his 464 snaps."
