It seems, according to the latest report, that wide receiver Brandon Marshall may not be the only mercurial pass-catcher to be jettisoned by the Chicago Bears during the inaugural offseason of the new Bears brain trust headed by GM Ryan Pace and head coach John Fox.
"Bears entertaining trade offers for Pro Bowl TE Martellus Bennett, per league sources. Bennett wants a new contract in Chicago or anywhere," Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Bennett, 28, has joined Pro Bowl running back Matt Forte in skipping the beginning of voluntary offseason workouts for Chicago.
According to Schefter, Bennett is seeking a raise on his current four-year, $20.4 million deal - a deal which carries a cap hit of $6.125 million for the 2015 season, the second-to-last year of the contract.
Last season for Chicago, Bennett hauled in 90 receptions on 129 targets for six touchdowns en route to a Pro Bowl berth, the first of his eight-year NFL career.
Bennett's numbers last year were career-highs across the board.
The former-second round pick of the Dallas Cowboys originally joined Chicago just prior to the 2013 season after four years with the Cowboys and one with the New York Giants.
It's not surprising that as he inches closer to his age 30 season the big tight end would look to cash in - it's likely the last time Bennett will be able to really cash in as an NFL player.
There's no doubting Bennett's ample talent and perhaps the light really did go on for him last season, but that being said, it's also always a questionable proposition to trust a player with just one year of elite-level production.
Then again, with a quarterback other than Jay Cutler throwing the ball to him, it's entirely possible he could even improve on the stellar numbers he posted last season.
