Martellus Bennett could be of interest to the Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos will certainly be doing some scouting in Super Bowl LI, potentially to get a look at free agent TE Martellus Bennett…
The New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons are set to face off in Super Bowl LI, which has to leave a bitter taste in the mouth of John Elway. One player that Elway could look to this offseason to try and get past the Patriots is tight end Martellus Bennett, who will be 30 next season but is playing as well as he ever has.
There were reports that Bennett turned down $7 million per season from the Patriots before the 2016 season even began, which would be insane to me. Spotrac puts his maximum value at $6 million per season, given his age and when he will sign his next contract.
Jimmy Graham is the highest paid tight end in the NFL on an annual basis, making $9 million this season. Next year, Jason Witten has a cap hit over $12 million. Greg Olsen will make over $10 million. Graham will make $10 million, and other players like Charles Clay, Julius Thomas, and Dennis Pitta will make no less than $7.7 million.
So, for Bennett’s market value to be set at $6 million? That’s perhaps a bit unlikely, and maybe he feels like someone will pay him top tier tight end money on a three- or four-year contract. He has certainly proven his worth this season in New England as Rob Gronkowski’s ‘backup’.
Speaking of Gronkowski, his cap hit next year is just $7 million, good for 8th among NFL tight ends. That’s a ridiculous value for the Patriots, and it makes sense why they would try to get Bennett at the same price.
But Bennett is smart to try and get as much money as he can while he still can. He’s 30, and this will likely be his last ‘big’ contract. A team like the Broncos could afford to pay him the kind of big money he seeks, and he would be a great fit with this offense, but would they sacrifice a need elsewhere to get him?
Denver has to upgrade their offensive line this offseason, and of course when you look at prospective free agents, everyone becomes an option before they’re ultimately signed elsewhere. We have no idea how the market will be set for most free agents, specifically for tight ends. This year’s draft class at tight end is excellent, so it might not even be financially responsible for the Broncos to put a lot of value in someone like Bennett.
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That said, it’s always tough for rookies to transition to the NFL at tight end, and unless the Broncos can ensure drafting Alabama’s O.J. Howard, it would be tough to find someone that could come in and make the kind of impact Bennett is capable of making in an offense.
If the Broncos wanted to skip drafting a tight end until perhaps the third round or later, they could look at signing Bennett and using their top pick on one of the best tackles or guards in the draft, someone like Forrest Lamp to play guard, Cam Robinson to play tackle, or even a more inexperienced player like Ryan Ramczyk if it came down to it.
It would be easy to justify signing Bennett to a big contract, especially since it would seemingly hurt the Patriots, who want to keep him around. New England has a lot of cap space and is expected to be active this offseason as well. If they want to keep Bennett, they have the money to throw at him.
That said, if Bennett hits the open market, it seems like something John Elway would at least consider doing, since it would be sticking it to New England, which he has done in the past. Elway signed Wes Welker in 2013 away from New England, the Patriots instead keeping Julian Edelman, which has turned out much better in their favor.
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In 2014, Elway got the better of old Bill Belichick and signed away Aqib Talib on a six-year contract, leaving the Patriots to sign Darrelle Revis. Both players helped their teams win a Super Bowl, but Talib appears to have more NFL longevity.
At the age of 30, Bennett is in the prime of his career. It’s risky to sign him to a long-term deal at this point because he’ll be approaching his mid-30s by the end of it, but if the Broncos can get two or three great years out of Bennett, it might be worth the price attached.