Bedard: Michael Bennett is nearing the end but he fits Patriots perfectly

Ah, Bill Belichick. Man, he's fun to watch this time of year. Not every move works out, but there's a definite method to the madness.

Trey Flowers doesn't (as of yet) want to take the Patriots' contract offer(s), which likely are not at the megabucks level he could earn as an unrestricted free agent?

Hello, Michael Bennett. Much lower price, likely lower production but the valuation makes sense — if Bennett remains healthy (he'll be 34 in November).

(And, no, the Patriots did NOT try to trade for him before last season.)

Plug, play. The machine known as the New England Patriots just keeps chugging. Wouldn't be surprised if they bring brother Martellus back at tight end as well.

READ: Cap implications of the Bennett trade

What should you expect from Bennett?

His best days are behind him: If you're expecting the Bennett from Super Bowl 49 to appear at Gillette this season, you can forget it. Yes, he had a career-high 12 sacks last season and still brings a good pass rush, but he played with a talented ensemble along the Philly front so it's tough to compare that to what he would do in New England. That being said, he's still very strong at the point of the attack, is (mostly) disciplined in his assignments (he can get a little aggressive against the run) and is extremely smart. He has at least one or two more good seasons left, and Belichick knows how to deal with veteran players.

He fits the scheme perfectly: Everything the Patriots do with their edge players — playing different techniques, lining up in different places, holding the edge — Bennett has done all of that with the Eagles and Seahawks. The scheme will not be an issue.

He's plug and play for Flowers: Never say never, but it would be a shock if Flowers is back. The Patriots must have gotten the impression at the combine that Flowers' market was out of sight. So they trade a fifth-rounder for an established veteran. Flowers mostly played the left side last season, but can play the right. Well, Bennett has mostly been on the left side in his career but can play the right.

Eagles left some plays on the table: One thing that jumps out watching the Eagles this season is they didn't work very well in their games (picks, stunts, twists) up front this season. It was like every rusher was on his own island (there's an example in the video below). As we know well, the Patriots basically relied on that for their pass rush in the second half of the season and they were great at it. Bennett will pick up a few more stats just because of the Patriots' discipline alone.

You do worry about tread and injuries: Bennett has played over 7,000 snaps in his career, according to ProFootballFocus.com. For comparison's sake, Patrick Chung has played over 8,400. So we're talking about adding an aging player to an aging core on defense. The Patriots were extremely fortunate they were as healthy as they were last season — it's probably the single biggest reason they won the Super Bowl. That's unlikely to happen again, so this move is upping the percentages.

The Patriots are likely not done at the position: If Flowers is out the door, I expect the Patriots to add another edge player(s) in the draft. This move doesn't speak well of Deatrich Wise and, especially, Derek Rivers. Wise is still a good all-around player, but not elite yet. Rivers is on the spot.