Michael Bennett Wants to Stay in Philadelphia. Will He Be Back?

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By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor

When the Eagles traded Marcus Johnson and a fifth-round pick for Michael Bennett and a seventh-round pick, the move split Philly fans. Bennett had a reputation for being a locker room cancer but was also an amazing player to add to an already dominant defensive line.

While the line has struggled with the loss of Tim Jernigan, who has only played 19 snaps so far this season and who’s production has not been replaced, and Derek Barnett early in the season, there is one addition that seems to have worked out for the defensive line: Michael Bennett.

Bennett had a slow start to the season, but has seen his snap count increase as well as his connections and leadership roles on the team. Let’s not leave out that Bennett is third in the NFL in quarterback hits (28) and has 30 tackles (12 for loss), eight sacks, two forces fumbles and a defended pass. Bennett has the ability to set career high marks in sacks and quarterback hits with a couple good games over the next few weeks. It has put him on path for his best season since 2015.

Bennett believes he can do even better than that if he were to continue to play alongside strong defenders like Fletcher Cox and Derek Barnett. He said:

“Next year is gonna be even better. I don’t know if I’m going to be here next year, but if I am here and get the opportunity to keep working with Fletch[er Cox] and some of the other guys is a blessing. ”

If Bennett talking about how playing alongside such a dominant player like Fletcher Cox doesn’t convince you that he wants to remain in an Eagles uniform, he made sure to provide a comment on how he feels about the city as a whole.

“I think I’ve done a great job of that. I think I’ve embraced the city. I love Philly, I love the organization, I love the fans here, and I think the fans like me here, so it’s becoming my own now, you know? And I’m excited about the possibilities. ”

Will he stay with the team, however? Bennett said that he thinks that truly great players are not judged based off of the first few years of their play, but “their 11th, 12th, 13th year”. That would indicate that the defensive tackle would like to play until his 13th year – 2021. Will that be with the Eagles?

The Eagles can choose to opt out of the final two years of Bennett’s contract to clear cap space should they choose to. His cap hit would be $7 million in 2019 and $8 million in 2020. With the Eagles set to lose Brandon Graham to a huge contract that the Birds don’t have the cap space to compete with and the seemingly likely departure of Chris Long (who could retire and has a contract option with a $5.6 million cap hit), the Eagles will have only Derek Barnett, Josh Sweat and the newly-signed Daeshon Hall. Call me crazy, but that position group doesn’t exactly wow me.

Howie Roseman has shown his willingness to invest in the defensive line. In fact, the final two years of Brandon Graham’s contract were more expensive than Bennett’s contract would be. Graham carried a $7.5 million cap hit in 2017 and an $8 million hit this season. With the numbers Bennett has put up this year, I find it hard to believe they let him go. I think it is more likely that we see Bennett and Barnett start at the defensive end positions for the Eagles in 2019.

Bennett also implied he would like to play until 2021, which is a year beyond when the Eagles control him. If the Eagles do well in 2019 and like the numbers Bennett put up, it would not be shocking that the Eagles lower Bennett’s 2020 cap hit by extending him for another year next offseason. That is still quite a bit down the line, however. For now, the Eagles should be glad they have found another excellent player that wants to be here in Philly.