Martellus Bennett had a breakout year in 2014, but his follow-up has not gone as planned. The tight end has not put up the numbers he nor the team was hoping for in 2015, but not all of that can be chalked up to Bennett's struggles. The tight end admittedly has done more blocking in Adam Gase's new offense and he is not thrilled around it. Coming off a rib injury, Bennett told the media he is not happy.
Bennett was out in Week 12 for what the team classified as a rib injury and he was not particularly happy about it. The tight end did not make the trip to Green Bay after getting hurt on a short week, but according to Bennett that was not his doing. The tight end told Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune that he was not happy about not playing, but denied he caused a scene at practice because of it. "I wasn't pissed off. I didn't play last week."
According to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, tension is running high between Bennett and the Bears. The tight end has already stated once that he was not happy about his lack of targets this season and did not simply want to be a blocking tight end. That is paired with the standoff he had prior to training camp, holding out for a new contract. Head coach John Fox would not entertain too many questions about Bennett's feelings towards the team.
"You will have to ask him about that," Fox said, via the Chicago Tribune. "I don't know. I don't really care. I get upset too. I think he is one of the top-five targeted tight ends in the league."
There could be an odd-man out in the coming offseason for the Bears and Bennett might not mind if it is him. The tight end has told media that he is not requesting any kind of move from the franchise, but trade rumors did swirl around his name while he was looking for a new contract. If available, plenty of teams would eye bringing on Bennett and the Bears could get a nice return for the tight end.
Chicago will be tasked with re-signing Alshon Jeffery while deciding between Matt Forte and Jeremy Langford for 2016. According to the Tribune, re-signing Jeffery is a no-brainer. As Kevin White returns to practice, the Bears will have their favored receiving duo on the field. Forte is not a lock considering the breakout month Langford is having with the team. Considering Chicago also needs to re-tool their defense, someone has to go. Letting Forte walk and trading Bennett is not a crazy idea.
