Jeff McLane of Phillly.com is reporting that a trade between the Eagles and Patriots for DE Michael Bennett “is going down” and the two teams are ironing out the draft picks included in the deal.
According to McLane, the Eagles are expected to receive a 2020 fifth-round pick from the Patriots for Bennett and a 2020 seventh-round pick.
Earlier in the day, McLane reported that the Eagles planned to either trade Bennett or release him outright if there’s no deal to be made.
The Patriots nearly acquired Bennett from the Seahawks last year before they agreed to a deal with the Eagles, so this isn’t a big surprise.
Bennett, 33, began his NFL career with the Buccaneers and spent four years in Tampa Bay before signing on with the Seahawks as a free agent back in 2013. Seattle signed him to a new four-year, $39 million contract before trading him to the Eagles last year.
Bennett stands to make base salaries of $6 million and $7 million over the next two years of the agreement.
According to OverTheCap.com, trading Bennett would free up $7.2 million of available cap space while creating $1 million in dead money.
In 2018, Bennett appeared in all 16 games for the Eagles and recorded 34 tackles, nine sacks, two forced fumbles, and a pass defense. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 21 edge rusher out of 103 qualifying players.
We’ll have more regarding Bennett as the news is available.
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