Martellus Bennett (hamstring) to injured reserve, now what?

Well, that didn't last long.

Martellus Bennett, after just two games with the Patriots, will be placed on season-ending injured reserve with a hamstring tear, BSJ's Christopher Price has confirmed. The shoulder injury that led to his release from the Packers was still an issue, but manageable.

The hamstring tightened up on Bennett on his first play against the Broncos, a 27-yard pass at the 4:53 mark of the first quarter.



After the play, Bennett was being tended to on the sideline — a trainer looked like he was attempting to stretch out the hamstring. He entered four plays later and caught a 5-yard pass.

Bennett caught three passes for 15 yards against the Raiders, and was inactive on Sunday vs. the Dolphins after being listed as doubtful on the injury report.

Nate Ebner will also be going on injured reserve with an ACL tear, a league source confirmed.

The Patriots have announced both Bennett and Ebner have been placed on injured reserve.

BSJ Analysis

Well, this isn't good. I'm not talking about Ebner — even though he's apparently one of the must-have special teams-only players who are the secret keys to the Patriots' success (yes, I'm being sarcastic; I think they'll survive although I do wonder if the Patriots move a Rex Burkhead to punt protector instead of Jordan Richards for fake purposes). Not going to lie, the loss of Bennett will hurt a little.

Look, we all knew Bennett's shoulder was a ticking time bomb and could blow at any time, and anything the Patriots got from Bennett was gravy. So we can't be all that surprised.

However, I think we had already seen the impact that having Bennett back had in rejuvenating Gronkowski, who was worn out at the bye week. Even 2.5 receptions a game was enough to keep Gronk just a little more fresh. It makes a difference over eight games.

At least Dwayne Allen has shown he can at least contribute a little bit, and Jacob Hollister appears to be more involved despite his tongue lashing in Mexico.



And the Patriots have also been ramping up Will Tye on the practice squad as a possible addition should Hollister not be able to handle a few more snaps.

https://youtu.be/HsxMzQQwxpE

A.J. Derby, the former Patriot who was traded to the Broncos, was waived last week by Denver but reportedly reverted to injured reserve. There would need to be an injury settlement for him to become a free agent in that case.

An intriguing late name has been added to the mix, as the Chiefs waived athletic TE Ross Travis, a former college hoops player. Travis intrigued the Chiefs long enough to stave off a couple of draft picks and to be given the number 88. He's 6-6 and 250 pounds now. Doesn't seem to be the type of midseason pickup the Patriots would make, but he'd be an intriguing developmental guy for next season. I'm guessing someone building for next season thinks the same thing and claims him.

In the end, I expect the Patriots to stick with what they have unless something intrigues them. Tye could get a look with a couple of roster spots now open.

But it's disappointing that Bennett couldn't last. If he just could have stayed healthy, he would have made a big difference in the short area of the field where the Patriots were lacking after the injury to Julian Edelman.

Now the Patriots need to adjust again.