Michael Bennett Will Be On The Market
March 3rd, 2014
Yes, it was one of the silliest moves Joe can remember, the Bucs letting 2012 sack leader Michael Bennett walk away for no good reason. No, Bennett will never be confused with Reggie White. But when a team is simply crying for sacks, it shouldn’t let its only proven defensive end who can make quarterbacks cry get away.
Bennett, who was a critical player for the Super Bowl champion Seahawks — imagine that, a guy who couldn’t help the Bucs but could help a team win a Super Bowl — appeared on “The Blitz,” heard exclusively in SiriusXM NFL Radio today to discuss his pending free agency.
Bennett will not be tagged by Seattle, but Bennett explained if he leaves, “I am not willing to take a paycut, I will tell you that. The market will be different than last year. more teams have money this year. There will be a lot of competition for a defensive end this year.”
But Bennett did say that he is not looking to be the highest-paid player, but what will be important to him is security so he can send his daughters to college. To hear some of Bennett’s interview, click the orange button below, courtesy of SiriusXM NFL Radio.
March 3rd, 2014 at 4:38 pm
hahah listening to a millionaire talk about having money to send his daughters to college just makes me laugh!
March 3rd, 2014 at 4:38 pm
It would be nice to have him back though!
March 3rd, 2014 at 4:40 pm
“We make alot of money, but we spend alot of money too”
Pat Ewing. Ha ha.
Bring Bennett back, along with Michael Johnson of Bengals, wtf
March 3rd, 2014 at 4:40 pm
Time to come back Michael. The house has been cleaned.
March 3rd, 2014 at 4:43 pm
@Lynch
I rather have him telling me it’s doing it for its family than someone who’s partying and paying property damage.
March 3rd, 2014 at 4:44 pm
@bucsQcCity I agree 100%.
March 3rd, 2014 at 4:45 pm
I don’t want him. Tell me, what was so dominating about the Bucs pass rush when he was here?
It made no difference in wins, not really. I don”t see it as much of an improvement.
He went to a team that had talent all along the line, so of course he did well. Can we offer the same? Heck no.
March 3rd, 2014 at 4:45 pm
And besides that, he talked smack about the Bucs when he left.
March 3rd, 2014 at 4:50 pm
“letting the 2012 sack leader Michael Bennett walk away for no good reason.”
very silly indeed. so silly, that the super champion seattle seahawks are about to do the same freakin thing with this guy, who also was there 2013 sack leader. lol. I Just dont see the fascination with this guy. He is no big lose.
March 3rd, 2014 at 4:58 pm
Why did Rock Start let Bennett walk again?
Was it because he used the 20th and 53rd picks of the 2011 draft on Clayborn and Bowers?
Hmmm?
Let’s see how Hickey does in the draft for the Dolphins.
March 3rd, 2014 at 5:03 pm
He reminds me of Stylez G White in terms of production. Solid football player but as Lovie likes to say “solid gets you 4-12.” Go get us a double digit, real sack master.
March 3rd, 2014 at 5:08 pm
bennet’s decision will come down to guaranteed money. that’s his right, but i think that might take him out of the licht approach to free agency. we probably have a better shot at a guy like jared allen or julius peppers who has made a ton of money and is more interested in quality of organization, coaches, and lifestyle along with competitive pay and likelihood of racking up some sacks & turnovers for their HOF resume. on that front, rushing alongside mccoy with revis & co on the back end, under a coach who’s led you to All Pro seasons sounds better than making a little more to languish in lousy cities\shaky organizations like jacksonville or oakland.
March 3rd, 2014 at 5:42 pm
If he hasn’t saved enough money to send his daughters to college yet, then he’s been receiving crap financial advice. Give me a one year salary of a million bucks and I won’t need anything for the rest of my life.
March 3rd, 2014 at 5:49 pm
I love the guy so don’t get me wrong, but I don’t think he’s coming back. I think he will most likely go to a desperate team that over pays for him. If we get him and overpay, I don’t really care. I just don’t think we will.
March 3rd, 2014 at 5:58 pm
He’s never had double digit sacks in his life. He had 2.5 more than Clayborn last year on a stronger defense than the Bucs front four. We’re ready to throw Clayborn under the bus for having only 6 sacks last year but Joe wants to glorify Bennett for having 8.5 sacks. Bennett is an average DE who wants to be paid better than an average DE. Hell didn’t T’eo have 5 or 6 in 2012, and we weren’t ready to give him a ticket parade. He’s never had double digit!!!
March 3rd, 2014 at 6:01 pm
No thanks. We need a pure pass rusher more than anything. Greg Hardy is a substantially better fit. Bennett is a decent pass rusher but he excels in the run game, which by the way, so does Adrian Clayborn. We need a guy who can hit 15 sacks. I don’t think that’s Bennett.
March 3rd, 2014 at 6:19 pm
Security for his daughters to go to college lol…guy made 5 million last year I think that’s more than enough for school
March 3rd, 2014 at 6:35 pm
Hardy was franchise tagged.
Bennett is overrated and should not be over-paid by us.
I like the idea of bringing Allen in. Would give the D line some attitude to go along with production. Both of which has not been seen in almost a decade.
March 3rd, 2014 at 7:02 pm
The fact Hardy was tagged just mean he’s going to be traded. No way the Panthers are going to keep both Johnson and Hardy at 20% of their cap, not when they have cap issues now and many guys to sign coming up. Cam, mediocre as he’s been, will be asking for $20 million a season. Thanks Joe Flacco.
March 3rd, 2014 at 7:04 pm
I said cutting Bennet was a big mistake last year and he proved it in the Super Bowl; however, I prefer Jared Allen myself. He could come in and get the sacks we need from the first game while our expert DL Coach teaches our younger DEs how to do it. They also could learn from watching Jared Allen too. I didn’t care for Bennet trashing the Bucs after he left. As far as I was concerned he failed to tell us the amount he was offered and give us a chance to offer him a better deal. He just jumped at the Seattle deal and that was it. I think Gholston has the power and the size to turn into a very good DE in time. He also will be able to hold his ground and stop the run too. If Lovie just wants a speed rusher he can put in one of our fastest LBs and let them run around the end.
March 3rd, 2014 at 7:54 pm
just a bunch of bullshiiiit talk on this site if you do not think letting benett walk your out of your minds and this joe dude wow thats all ya got ?
March 3rd, 2014 at 8:11 pm
I’d rather not bring him back here with a long-term contract and have him stink. That would hurt too much.
For some reason I’m not convinced he’s the real deal, but we’ll see next year when he’s collecting guaranteed money.
March 4th, 2014 at 1:35 am
I like Bennett for his versatility, IMO I prefer him as a pass rushing DT. so back on our team he would be right Next to GMC. Now i know traditionalist will try to call me out and say we need a NT to eat Double teams. Well there aren’t many NT’s out their who will scare anyone more than GMC so we need someone else who can rush the passer from that secondary lane.
Dream pick would be Jared Allen, Khalil Mack (DE), GMC, Michaek Bennett DT’s. But that is to much money to pay a above average DT he wants top DE money.
March 4th, 2014 at 2:37 am
What kind of college is he planning for her daughters to go to?
March 5th, 2014 at 5:58 pm
@ButIt941
Can Bennett even play NT? Thought he was just a DE. I don’t think we need to experiment. Another vote for Allen.