Martellus Bennett Doesn't Care About Your Stinkin' Preseason

In his brief NFL career, Martellus Bennett has made headlines for all manners of things. His prolific Twitter use, fondness for other alternative forms of digital communication and attempts at careers a both rap star and nude model have assured him more space in the public eye than your typical backup tight end.

What he hasn't done is accomplish much of note on the field. After a ton of preseason hype in 2009, so much that the Bengals offered a first-round pick for him in a trade, Bennett fell flat on his face during the regular season and finished the year with just 15 catches and one touchdown. All his physical ability didn't help him run the correct routes or gain the trust of Tony Romo which meant that Jason Witten still had to carry a heavy load in the offense.

Based on that kind of season, you'd think that Marty B would be ready and raring to go this summer to prove that he was worth all the advance billing. You'd think wrong, though. It seems Bennett, who will miss the Raiders game with an ankle injury, doesn't put much stock into what happens during training camp.

"What really counts is the season," Bennett said. "I had a hell of a preseason last year. That didn’t mean nothing. I had 300 yards or whatever in three games, but that doesn’t mean nothing. But what really counts is the season, not the preseason or whatever. I just want to get to the season and do my job."

It's great that Bennett realizes that August stats don't count, but it's probably not a great idea for a guy coming off a disappointing season and a history of caring too much about off-field issues to publicly say he doesn't care about putting in the work to get ready for the season. The reason why everyone made such a big deal about John Phillips's injury is because they don't trust Marty B to be a big contributor come the season. This message underlines those concerns and then highlights them in neon pink.

Hopefully Bennett's disregard for training camp pays off in a strong 2010 season. Anything less will make the decision to pass on trading him look awfully stupid.

Stay on top of the latest Dallas Cowboys news with NBCDFW.com. Foll ow NBC DFW Sports on Facebook or have breaking Cowboys news sent directly to your phone with Blue Star SMS alerts. Text "bluestar" to 622339 (NBCDFW) to subscribe to this free service. Read more about it here.

Copyright FREEL - NBC Local Media
Contact Us