Martellus Bennett Wants To Continue Playing, Could Return To Patriots
New England Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett wants to return to the gridiron for his 11th season in 2018, according to Ian Rapoport.
Over the course of the 2017 season, Bennett, 30, hinted at retirement following the conclusion of the season.
Appears as though Packers TE Martellus Bennett is heading toward retirement upon the conclusion of the 2017 season. pic.twitter.com/aWBDXBdlP3
— Nick Shook (@TheNickShook) October 29, 2017
But apparently Bennett is now reconsidering retirement, but do the Patriots want to bring him back into the fold for the 2018 season?
Despite publicly contemplating retirement last season, #Patriots TE Martellus Bennett does want to continue playing, I’m told. He’s due a $2M roster bonus on March 14, so New England has a decision… but his $6.2M cap hit isn’t bad.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 23, 2018
The former Patriots’ tight end made his return to the team in late November following a release from the Green Bay Packers after signing a three-year, $21 million contract during last offseason.
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It wasn’t a “secret” that Bennett was battling injuries while in Green Bay, but his plan of battling through them was thrown out the window when he was placed on Injured Reserve with hamstring and shoulder injuries ending his season.
Through two games with the Patriots in 2017, he had six catches for 53 yards and zero touchdowns.
During Bennett‘s only full season with Tom Brady and the Patriots in 2016, he had 55 catches for 701 yards and seven touchdowns, en route to his only Super Bowl victory. Throughout the season he demonstrated that he could excel and play a critical role in a complicated Patriots offense.
With speculations swirling around that Rob Gronkowski is considering retirement himself and the Patriots lacking depth at the tight end position, they could be inclined to retain Bennett’s services.
— By John ‘The Dude’ Hardiman, 985TheSportsHub.com