Drew Rosenhaus Is Salivating
January 16th, 2013
“You listen to me, Dominik. Michael Bennett’s getting paid with or without you.”
The Michael Bennett sweepstakes appear to be heating up early.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll chatted with media yesterday, stunned by his team’s loss and sack-free performance in Atlanta on Sunday, and he declared that scoring a couple of pass rushers is Seattle’s offseason priority.
Joe suspects Bennett’s agent, oily Drew Rosenhaus, is rejoicing over Carroll’s public outcry and is preparing to extract every last dime Bennett can score on the unrestricted free agent market.
How could Seattle not want a versatile guy like Bennett? He’s a manbeast against the run, second in the NFL in “run-stuffs” in 2012, (Frank Gore and Stephen Jackson live in their division), and Bennett can get after the passer.
It’s an odd free-agent class for defensive ends.
Old and somewhat worn out studs Richard Seymour, Dwight Freeney and Osi Umenyiora will be available when the free agency bell rings in March, as will Lions DE Cliff Avril, who had 9 1/2 sacks in 2012 and earned $10.7 million as the Lions franchise player. And then there’s Bennett.
Joe sincerely hopes the Bucs can lock up Bennett before he’s free to test the market in March. If not, there’s always the franchise tag for 2013, a steep price, but the one that’s likely worth it.
January 16th, 2013 at 12:50 pm
They better Franchise him if no deal can be done
January 16th, 2013 at 12:59 pm
I would like to see Bennett stay with the Bucs.
January 16th, 2013 at 1:04 pm
I only see a BIG signing bonus if they want to keep him, so I think they might just franchise him.
January 16th, 2013 at 1:07 pm
You NEED three good DEs in this league. Assuming Clayborn and Bowers develop, that’s what we’d have.
In an ideal scenario, Bowers would spell either Clayborn and Bennett regularly throughout the game and/or Bennett would slide in to DT with McCoy on obvious passing downs. Ideally, we’d see this three DEs get 95% of the snaps.
One can hope…
January 16th, 2013 at 1:07 pm
I would to see Bennet get a new agent than that slime ball Drew Rosenhaus.
January 16th, 2013 at 1:15 pm
Bennett played 89% of the snaps on D this year, almost 1,000 snaps.
COMBINED Bowers and Clayborn played less than 500 snaps. Getting these two back at 100% next year, plus re-signing Bennett would hopefully give us the defensive line we’ve been hoping for for the past two years.
January 16th, 2013 at 1:40 pm
Bennett and Avril are good but neither will be the catch of this season’s free agency class. Michael Johnson of Cincy is likely to get the most money. Paul Kruger of Baltimore, with his play in the last 10 games, is steadily driving his guaranteed money up. Connor Barwin of Houston, might not make as much as the other four, but he will be getting a nice contract once he hits the open market.
January 16th, 2013 at 1:43 pm
I view Michael Johnson as the best pure DE pass rusher. A 6’7 270 lber with legit 4.65 speed and athleticism, his upside is still untapped.
My preference is Paul Kruger of Baltimore because of his schematic versatility. Technically a LB with the Ravens, Kruger puts his hand in the dirt well over 50 of the time with his team and is a constantly disruptive force. If we signed him he could play the Sam on running downs and move to DE on passing downs. He might offer us the most bang for our bucks.
January 16th, 2013 at 1:49 pm
No, no, no. Why would we let Bennett go then sign another DE in FA??
There is no possible way, given how good Bennett is, that another guy could come in here and produce at his level right away.
January 16th, 2013 at 2:28 pm
50% chance we sign him. just all depends on how much we are willing to spend on an above average DE. anybody notice how Bennett’s sack total blew up during a contract year? that makes me cautious about signing him. I think the guy is good, but not great. weather we sign him or not we will be fine.
January 16th, 2013 at 6:14 pm
Bennett played very well last year too, he’s not just a one-year wonder.
January 16th, 2013 at 6:34 pm
@Andrew 1
#71’s sack total went up in 2012 simply because he gets better every year. Hell, he gets better every week. The pass rush is typically the hardest thing for any D-lineman, and therefore it’s usually the last to develop.
#71 has always played the run very well, and Coach Schiano counts that as a priority, so it’s very likely that he’ll be a Buc for a while.
I agree that he is good, but not great. That being said, I feel he has the ABILITY to be great. His upside has yet to be determined.
Disagree “weather” or not we will be fine without him. I can’t believe that you would even think that! Consider, for a moment, what the D-line would have looked like in 2012 without him. At the very least, our ability to stop the run is seriously compromised, and the bulk of the pass rush disappears.
For me, there are no red flags with #71.
January 16th, 2013 at 6:47 pm
Drew is the ultimate Capitalist Pig. I love that guy.
January 16th, 2013 at 10:23 pm
Bennett was average up until his contract year. I don’t see a long term up side. Don’t have the answer but don’t think he deserves a million dollars for each sack this year. There has to be something better than this guy.
January 16th, 2013 at 11:43 pm
I would go with Osi or Avril. Both are better than Bennett IMO. If we don’t get Bennett back, then we should get around a 4th round through 6th round complementary pick. Then pick up a McCoy tag team partner that can get off a single blocker often. The Defense will greatly improve by just fixing the front 7 alone.
Osi: http://youtu.be/6nlKDo_m694
Avril” http://youtu.be/avobSO3e7Bg
Bennett: I tried to be fair but couldn’t find any highlight for the guy that similar to the two above.
January 17th, 2013 at 9:10 am
Need a package deal for both Bennetts.
January 17th, 2013 at 11:59 am
Nobody mentions Te’o Neosheim who I think is an up & coming DE with a good future ahead of him. He’ll only get better.