Martellus Bennett‘s controversial exit from Green Bay led to two games with the Patriots. Those look like the only two Bennett will play for New England this season.
Bennett has been battling a shoulder injury all season, and the Patriots are set to place the veteran tight end on IR, Jim McBride of the Boston Globe tweets.
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com also reports (on Twitter) the tight end is headed for IR and surgery, noting a hamstring problem may be the bigger reason behind this move. Rapoport adds Bennett will have shoulder surgery, at long last.
Bennett has been dealing with a tear in one of his hamstrings, Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald tweets, noting he’d planned to play through the rotator cuff and labrum problems he’d dealt with in his shoulder since last season.
The Packers waived Bennett earlier this month, and the 30-year-old pass-catcher accused the team of attempting to convince him to avoid having a surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff he said worsened this season. He passed a Pats physical, clearing the way for the defending Super Bowl champions’ waiver claim, and played Week 10 and Week 11, catching six passes for 53 yards. With his season likely being finished, Bennett will close with 286 air yards and no touchdowns.
After a season in which Bennett became the team’s primary tight end after a Rob Gronkowski injury, the Patriots are in better shape at tight end. They still have Gronkowski and Dwayne Allen healthy.
Bennett also said earlier this season he would likely retire at its conclusion. There are two years remaining on Bennett’s deal. Bennett being on the Pats’ roster as of March 14 triggers a $2MM bonus, so the Pats will make a decision on the pass-catcher before free agency, Howe tweets.