And people were ostracizing me for trying to explain Bennett was worth no more than a 4th or 5th round pick. Much less the first round pick they were trying to claim.
For a TE....
lol I was laughing then and I'm still laughing.
Look guys, the Black Unicorn is what he is. He is near an elite TE but isn't quite one of them. He gives you a good blocker that can catch. He seemed gassed the last couple weeks and is probably in some sort of mid season lulz due to injury or fatigue. I'm glad he is a Bear, he will have better games. He may have a few more of them or this might be all his body has left this year. These things are complicated.
I personally am not trading him, I'm not releasing him or replacing him. Use him and keep looking for the next guy because despite giving up a draft pick I really don't think Khari Lee is that guy. In fact....that guy doesn't seem like an NFL player to me.
Miller will be more than enough until injury. Bennett will always be a head case and hard to keep happy longer than very briefly. He talks too much, believes his own bullshit, and is quick to feel slighted.
Its the type of toxic personality its just not worth investing in to try and make happy, cuz it may not last or backfire. Fuck it. Maybe throw him a biscuit of a small raise in the off-season, move some dollars around to give him some and make the deal more cap friendly or something. Thats about as far as I would go.
Part of me wants him angry and in a contract year. Its about the only way to get a player like him to perform. If you have to hang on to him 2 more years to get that, fine.