The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Eagles trade defensive end Michael Bennett to Patriots
PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles are trading Michael Bennett to the Patriots, NFL sources said Friday.
Draft compensation is still being ironed out, but the Eagles are expected to receive a 2020 fifth-round draft pick from New England for Bennett and a 2020 seventh-round selection, according to sources.
The Eagles started actively shopping the 33-year-old defensive end last week after they re-signed Brandon Graham. Bennett had previously stated his desire to remain a starter, and with former first-round pick Derek Barnett and Graham returning, he was unlikely to get that opportunity with the Eagles this season.
Bennett’s contract — he has two years left with $7.2 million and $8 million cap numbers — was seemingly reasonable considering his production last season. He recorded nine sacks, 15 tackles for loss, and 30 quarterback hits during the regular season, and a sack, three tackles for loss, and three hits in two postseason games.
He also played through a foot injury that mostly kept him from practicing over the last month.
After Barnett was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a torn rotator cuff, Bennett’s playing time increased along with his production. He’ll turn 34 in November, and Graham will turn 31 in May, but the Eagles will pay the latter $13 million this season vs. Bennett’s $6.2 million and his 2018 pass-rushing numbers (four sacks, nine tackles for loss and 11 hits) paled in comparison.
Barnett had a solid rookie season. He notched five sacks and nine tackles for loss and played through a sports hernia. He got off a solid start in his second season, but injured his shoulder and tried to play through it before his season was shut down.
The Eagles acquired Bennett last season in a
trade with the Seahawks. They parted with a fifthround pick and wide receiver Marcus Johnson and received Bennett and a seventh-round selection.
A year later, they get a fifth-round pick in return, but they part with their most productive defensive lineman last season, aside from Fletcher Cox.
Bennett made an appearance on NFL Network on Friday morning before the trade.
“You’re always caught off guard whenever your name is brought up in the trade blocks or being traded,” Bennett said. “But you understand that people want to acquire your services. I think we’re in a tough situation as far as the salary cap and I’m not willing to take a pay cut.
“I actually want a pay raise at this point. So whatever happens, just to know whatever team I go to I want to get paid more than what I’m getting paid right now.”
Aside from Graham and Barnett, the Eagles’ other defensive ends under contract are Chris Long, Josh Sweat and Daeshon Hall. Long, who is in Africa climbing Mount Kilimanjaro for charity, has said he would rather retire than return for a secondary role. He’s under contract for one more year at $5.6 million.
Sweat, who suffered a season-ending foot injury as a rookie in December, and late-season addition Hall are relative unknowns.
The Eagles now need more at defensive end. Demarcus Lawrence, Jadeveon Clowney, Frank Clark and Dee Ford would have been the top free agents, but each was franchise-tagged by his team. They could still be traded, however.
Second-tier free agents such as Trey Flowers, Shaquil Barrett, Preston Smith, Za’Darius Smith and Ziggy Ansah will likely be looking for opportunities to start. The Eagles have only a third defensive-end spot to offer and could plow from a young, unproven crop, or from a group of aging former studs.
Dante Fowler, 24, could be an appealing option in the former category. Cameron Wake, 37, could qualify in the latter. Roseman might look to the trade market again. The draft, which could be as deep at defensive line as it’s ever been, offers its own potential rewards.
On the surface, retaining Bennett for at least one more season seemed like a no-brainer. In the final 11 games of last year, including the playoffs, when his snaps increased by 14 percent, he notched seven sacks, 13 tackles for loss, and 20 quarterback hits.
He was relatively wellliked in the locker room, made friends with players of various stripes, and was a mentor to some youngsters, despite his eccentrics.
But Bennett remained as outspoken as he was in Seattle and pointed out injustices as he saw them, whether it was his playing time or the lack of women of color on the board of the Eagles’ newly created Social Justice Fund.
There is also a pending felony case after Houston authorities indicted him for pushing a disabled elderly woman — an allegation he denies — after the 2017 Super Bowl. A court date was recently pushed back again, and it’s been nearly a year since Bennett was charged.
The Eagles stood behind Bennett then, and his departure has nothing to do with his legal troubles, sources said.