FOXBOROUGH, Mass. _ Michael Bennett didn’t seem long for Foxborough after expressing his displeasure about the Patriots choice to suspend him last week.
It just so happens that the team has decided to trade the veteran 24 hours later.
On Thursday evening, the Patriots dealt Bennett to the Dallas Cowboys for a seventh-round pick that could become a sixth-round selection in 2021. This move seemed very likely following the events over the last two weeks.
Last week, Bennett was suspended a week for conduct detrimental to the team. The veteran had a verbal disagreement with Patriots defensive line coach Brett Bielema over his lack of playing time following the Patriots’ win over the New York Giants. Bennett played just 11 snaps in that Patriots win. At the time, the 33-year-old was playing just 35.7% of the Patriots defensive snaps.
When asked about the suspension on Wednesday, Bennett voiced his displeasure about the situation.
“It seemed like everybody already made their opinions about it. I mean, it’s America, you can voice your opinion about how you feel about certain situations. That’s what I did,” said Bennett, who was then asked if he took anything away from the week. “I didn’t takeaway nothing. I got suspended. Lost money. What am I supposed to takeaway from that? I mean, there’s no love loss. It’s just how it is.”
When asked if he was happy with the Patriots, he responded, “It is what it is.”
When asked if he wanted to be traded, Bennett said, “That’s up to them. That’s up to the team and how they feel about it. I like playing here. It’s all the same.”
The Patriots traded for Bennett this offseason, shipping a fifth-rounder to Philadelphia. The Patriots also received a seventh rounder in return. The Pats restructured his contract, giving Bennett a slight raise. By trading him, the Pats clear up around $2.6 million in cap space with the NFL trade deadline next Tuesday.
When he was on the field, Bennett wasn’t bad. In six games, he has 2.5 sacks, four quarterback hits and three tackles for loss. The problem, however, was that the Patriots wanted him to play a limited role since they were heavily relying on their talented linebackers every week.
Clearly, this wasn’t a match made in heaven. Now, both parties move on.
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