On March 10th, the Packers made an uncharacteristic move in signing free agent tight end Martellus Bennett. The outspoken player will undoubtedly bring big time talent to the Packers offense while adding leadership in the locker room. Bennett will also bring his charity work, along with the creative content he has been working on. The Packers aren’t quite used to having such a unique personality, which makes the signing a little bit of a surprise.
Martellus Bennett Brings More Than Just Talent To Green Bay
Last year, Bennett started 12 games for the New England Patriots, mostly filling in for the oft injured Rob Gronkowski. Bennett was brought in to team up with Gronkowski to make one of the best tight end duos in the league. In those 12 games, Bennett recorded 55 receptions, 701 yards, and seven touchdowns. In comparison, Jared Cook started ten games for the Packers and recorded 30 receptions, 377 yards, and one touchdown. Looking from just a numbers standpoint, Martellus Bennett is a sizable upgrade at the position.
Unique Personality
Fun and creative would be a couple of words to describe the personality of Martellus Bennett. He brings a new type of player to the Packers in more ways that just playing ability. When Bennett was signed by he Packers, he ran a poll on Twitter to let the fans pick his new number. After 124,026 votes, number 80 was the winning number. Not very many NFL players would let the fans choose their jersey number. It just proves that Bennett is a little different than your average NFL player.
The Imagination Agency
The Imagination Agency is a creative project Bennett is working on. It’s a multimedia production company that focuses on creating content for children. The company has already put out a children’s book called “Hey A.J., Its Saturday,” penned by Bennett, and an interactive app for iPhone and Android. The app lets you follow along with the book and lets you play a game at the end of it. The main character in “Hey A.J.” was inspired from his Daughter, Jett. Bennett has been on record saying the idea came to him when his daughter was born and the diversity of the book and app came from the lack of people of color in children’s books. Bennett plans to release more content over the next year.
I Am Not A Rapper, But Some Of My Friends Are
In 2017, “MartysaurusRex” released his debut rap EP called “I Am Not A Rapper, But Some Of My Friends Are.” The EP includes five tracks and wasn’t intended to be a serious endeavor. Martellus was quoted saying he was just messing around with his friends in the studio and just wanted to express his creativity in as many ways as possible. Some of the tracks on the album include “Dinosaurs and Dynamite,” “Whole Foods,” and “ShaqFu.”
Green Bay hasn’t had a character quite like Bennett in a long time. The multi-talented tight ened will bring some much needed leadership on one of the youngest teams in the NFL. He will also benefit the community in so many ways, while also bringing big time play-making ability to the offense. The Packers hit the jackpot in Bennett, in more ways than one.
