There have been some questions about whether Martellus Bennett forced his way out of Green Bay so he could rejoin the New England Patriots, but none of those questions are being asked by NFL officials.
On his weekly conference call with reporters Tuesday, NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart was asked if the league is looking into any potential tampering violations regarding the way Bennett ended up back in New England. His response was quite clear.
NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart on whether the league is looking into how Martellus Bennett ended up with the #Patriots: “No.”
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 14, 2017
The situation with Bennett and the Packers has already gotten ugly, and it could get worse in the coming weeks. Bennett claims he wanted to get shoulder surgery but was persuaded to play through his injury by Green Bay’s team doctor. That has raised questions about why he is suddenly willing to play through the injury with the Patriots if he was so convinced he needed season-ending surgery before.
Bennett raised another red flag when he said he was planning to retire from football until Bill Belichick called him. The tight end said he told his agent to inform teams not to bother claiming him, which left some wondering if he finagled his way back to New England. The NFL obviously does not think anything like that happened.
