Martellus Bennett has done well to submerge himself into the Chicago community and endear himself with fans. Bennett has now shown the same people that his mercurial personality has its drawbacks.
The 27-year old tight end was involved in a now infamous altercation during practice Monday in which he body-slammed rookie cornerback Kyle Fuller. It appears as if Bennett took exception to a stronger hit during drills, but nothing egregious or malicious. The fracas has led to ‘The Black Unicorn’s’ indefinite suspension and fine.
Chicago Bears general manager was quoted saying that the suspension was for “conduct detrimental to the team.”
While the incident led to the suspension, it is less likely that it was an isolated one that boiled over.
During a media scrum yesterday around an hour after practice was called off, Martellus Bennett continued to express his frustration with the fight and even said that he could pay for any fine that he may get for his actions.
That’s not good.
The Bears took Bennett up on his comments and took some of his pay, but the fact that he continued to show anger after being given plenty of time to cool off mentally is something we haven’t seen since his arrival last season. It was known that the ‘Martysaurus Rex’ had a mean streak from previous stops in New York and Dallas, but why?
Why let a clean play at practice get under your skin?
Injuries have been piling up across the NFL landscape, and the Bears know that well, but fighting a teammate not only endangers yourself, but endangers the person you’re engaging in fisticuffs with.
The Bears will be hurt by losing Martellus Bennett for however long management deems necessary, but the same people who disciplined him need to be commended. If the Fuller-Bennett altercation were to be pushed under the rug, who is to say the rookie defensive back would not feel vilified or scared for further repercussions from Bennett.
Jumping to the “veteran-rookie bullying” narrative would be ignorant and without base, but to establish a letter of the law now lets the rest of the Bears players know that stupid decisions will not be tolerated. We have seen how not taking care of something like that has hurt other franchises in the NFL.
Emery and head coach Marc Trestman know that the Bears are on the precipice of something good with the franchise. Their handling of Bennett could go a long way into getting the tight end back in line and with the short and long-term team plans, or it could expose a need for additional assets to help the team.
There is little that makes this altercation seem like it would grow and spawn into something that would affect the Bears’ chances of competing for a shot at a Super Bowl berth. Phil Emery and Marc Trestman seem to be more than capable of handling any situation regardless of its magnitude, and suspending Martellus Bennett regardless of his role with the team shows that.
Jeff is a production assistant at 120 Sports. He is a contributor to Bears, White Sox, Cardinals, and Blackhawks coverage for The Sports Bank. Follow Jeff @skcih_ffej.