Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that TE Martellus Bennett will likely undergo ankle surgery at some point this offseason.
According to Rapoport, Bennett has been playing through a cracked bone and bone chips in his ankle, so it sounds like he’ll get this cleaned up after the season to be back to 100 percent health in time for the 2017 season.
A few months ago, Rapoport reported that the Patriots are making Bennett an offseason priority and want to lock him up to a long-term contract.
Rapoport added that Bennett has been “everything the Patriots wanted” when they traded for him during the offseason. Bennett has fought through injuries for them this year and they plan to reward him with a new contract in the coming months.
Bennett, 29, is a former first-round pick of the Cowboys back in 2008. He spent four years in Dallas before joining the Giants as a free agent. The Bears later signed him to a contract only to trade him to the Patriots in return for a fourth-round pick.
Bennett is in the final year of his four-year, $20.4 million contract that included $5.215 million guaranteed. He stands to make a base salary of $5.085 million for the 2016 season.
In 2016, Bennett appeared in all 16 games for the Patriots and caught 55 passes for 701 yards receiving and seven touchdowns. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 10 tight end out of 63 qualifying players.
We have him featured in our Top 100 – 2017 Free Agents list.
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