Michael Bennett trade puts Philadelphia Eagles in tough spot
By Dan Parzych
The Philadelphia Eagles agreed to a trade that will send Michael Bennett to the New England Patriots after only one season in the City of Brotherly Love.
Last offseason, the Philadelphia Eagles pulled off a surprise trade out of nowhere to acquire Michael Bennett from the Seattle Seahawks, in a deal that seemed like a no brainer at the time, which ended up being the case.
Along with Bennett, the Seahawks provided the Eagles with a seventh-round pick, and all Philadelphia had to give in return was a fifth-round pick along with Marcus Johnson.
Despite previously earning three trips in a row to the Pro Bowl, Seattle was in a difficult position at the time since Bennett was taking up a ton of salary cap space, which is part of the reason why they dealt him to Philadelphia.
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So how did things turn out for Bennett during his first season with the Eagles? Well, after watching Bennett make an impact on defense by finishing with nine sacks, it’s safe to say this was a great addition for Philadelphia, and expectations would be high once again heading into 2019.
With that being said, it looks like Bennett’s first year with the Eagles will end up being his only one after the team announced on Friday their plans to send the veteran to the New England Patriots.
#Eagles are likely to receive a 2020 5th round draft pick from the Patriots for Michael Bennett and a 2020 7th rounder, NFL sources said.
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) March 8, 2019
Michael Bennett’s comments on NFL Network this morning had zero to do with the #Eagles’ decision to trade him. They had been shopping him for some time and if they couldn’t get a deal, they were likely to release him before the start of free agency.
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) March 8, 2019
To clarify, there was speculation that Philadelphia dealt Bennett following comments made about wanting a pay raise, but as Jeff McLane pointed out, it looks like the Eagles had been looking at potential trade options for quite some time.
From a financial perspective, it’s easy to see why the Eagles felt the need to move on from Bennett, but it will be difficult to adjust in 2019 without him since he was one of the most effective pass-rushers on defense.
Sure, Philadelphia can always look to the upcoming free agency period or April’s draft to help fill the void Bennett leaves behind, but the veteran is a one of a kind player for a reason.
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Eagles fans will obviously trust Howie Roseman like they always do since chances are he never would have decided to pull off this deal involving Bennett without some sort of plan. But until that plan is officially revealed to see where the defense stands, this deal with Bennett will seem like a questionable move for Philadelphia.