Patriots bring back former tight end, Martellus Bennett

Ian Glendon
Updated

Well, that didn’t take long. Released on Tuesday by the Green Bay Packers, Martellus Bennett has been claimed on waivers by his former team, the New England Patriots according to Adam Schefter. In his lone season with the Patriots, Bennett played a huge role in the franchises’ fifth championship, especially after losing Rob Gronkowski for the season.

In order to make room for the Bennett, the Patriots have reportedly released defensive lineman, Geneo Grissom. Grissom was a third-round pick of the Patriots in the 2015 draft and played in 30 games for the Patriots in that span.

Once he was released by the Packers, the Patriots seemed like an obvious fit for the journeyman tight end, especially considering the struggles of his replacement, Dwayne Allen. In addition to Allen’s lack of production, uncertainty surrounds Chris Hogan as he remained in a sling late in the week. The addition of Bennett helps solve both issues.

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In 2016, Bennett hauled in 55 balls for 701 yards and seven touchdowns for the Patriots. In the playoffs, he had 11 receptions for 98 yards, including 62 yards in the Super Bowl against the Atlanta Falcons. In seven games with the Packers, all starts, he had 24 receptions on 38 targets for 233 yards and no touchdowns.

The 10-year veteran has bounced around the NFL after coming into the league with the Dallas Cowboys. After the Cowboys, he spent a year with the Giants before a three-year stint with the Chicago Bears. Bennett signed with the Patriots prior to the 2016 season and became a key cog in a championship-winning offense before his brief stint with the Packers this year.

The move resembles LeGarrette Blount’s return to the Patriots in 2014. Following the 2013 season, Blount left the Patriots and signed a free agent contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Blount was released midway through the season and quickly found himself back on the Patriots. Just a few months later, Blount was a Super Bowl champion.

Depending on his health, he missed the Packers Week 9 game against the Lions due to ‘injury’, Bennett should slide seamlessly back into the Patriots offense. Last year, the prospect of seeing the Patriots deploy the duo of Gronkowski and Bennett was exciting for Patriots fans. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long as Gronkowski missed the entire second half of the season, including the Super Bowl run.

Hopefully, we get to see the duo for the entire season and another Super Bowl run.

– Ian Glendon is the National Editor for cover32 and the Managing Editor for cover32/Patriots. He covers the NFL and New England Patriots. Like and follow on and Facebook.