Former Cowboys’ tight end Martellus Bennett has a message for those who were taken aback by reports that he showed up to Giants’ OTAs at 291 pounds--about 25 north of his listed weight with Dallas last year: It’s not fat, it’s muscle.
"Just put on a lot of muscle this summer," Bennett told reporters this week, per ESPN Dallas. "Been working out since January. Faster, stronger, jump higher, run longer, great condition -- every conditioning test we had, I aced.
"Just been beasting out all summer. What y'all should be writing about is how much of a freak Martellus turned himself into."
Bennett would be right to be so dismiss the concern over his weight if the group of those concerned didn’t include his own position coach, but alas, it does.
"He weighed in at 291 pounds last week," tight ends coach Mike Pope said. "So I think that is probably a little too big for his legs to carry."
Head coach Tom Coughlin, meanwhile, would like to see Bennett’s weight go down some--but he’s buying Bennett’s assertion that much of the gain is a result of work in the weight room.
"It'll get there," Coughlin said of Bennett’s weight. "He's a guy that's obviously got the size to carry whatever weight we would want him to carry. He claims that he's made very good strides in the weight room, and he has.
"He played in the 270s last year, so we'll get that under control."
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