On February 27th, Pro Football Talk reported that Paul Dottino of WFAN in New York caught up with Giants Martellus Bennett to ask him when he would re-sign with the team through direct messaging on twitter, turns out the tight end is reportedly "not feeling the love."
“I dunno bro. Not feeling the love,” Bennett wrote. “They have other priorities that come before little ole me. I’m just a small piece of what they’re trying to do there. … I’ve come to the conclusion that we are just temporary investments to the owners. Value money and growth over players. … Just like any business. Employees aren’t as valuable as we use to be. Everyone needs a job. Lol.”
Dramatic? Your call. However, keep in mind these comments are coming off a career year for Bennett in 2012, where he posted 55 receptions, 626 yards and five touchdowns, all of which were career-highs. Not to mention he appeared to form a solid connection with Eli Manning, which showed with his 35 first downs receiving.
Whether comments such as those are enough to scare off a locker room conscious franchise like the Giants, has yet to be determined. But chances are their going to wait until the market is set in free agency next month to show their hand.
If New York were to not re-sign Bennett, there are rumors that he and his brother, Michael Bennett, could potentially try to re-unite in Tampa. That said, there's always a chance that he could choose to follow in the footsteps of the man he patterns his game after, Tony Gonzalez.
“He changed the position,” Bennett said. “There used to be only one Tony Gonzalez, who was big and athletic and could run routes and get open. Now there’s six or seven of them. He started it and that’s what everybody started looking for because of him.
The entire situation is obviously tentative at this point, but any time an athlete publicly voices their dissatisfaction regarding their respective team it will lay ground to speculation.
With that, Atlanta Falcons' brass and fans can simply keep Bennett's name in the back of their heads, knowing full well that come March 12th they'll having something more than just dollar signs to help persuade him. After all, there's nothing quite like carrying on the legacy of a legend.
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