Martellus Bennett Says Packers Knew About Shoulder Injury Months Before Waiving Him

Martellus Bennett ranted about the Packers’ medical staff and his injured shoulder.

Shortly after he was claimed off waivers by the Patriots, tight end Martellus Bennett sent a cryptic tweet: “I’ll tell y’all everything one day, but wow.”

On Friday, Bennett followed through and torched the Packers for how they handled his injured shoulder. Over the course of 13 posts on his Instagram story—the transcript of which you can read here—Bennett said Green Bay was well aware of his shoulder issues and accused them of pressuring him to play through his injury. 

The Packers waived Bennett with the designation that he “failed to disclose a physical condition,” but Bennett said the team was aware of the issue. Green Bay first examined his shoulder on March 10 and gave him a clean bill of health, Bennett said. 

“It got worse during the season, specifically against the Cowboys [in Week 5], so I asked to have it checked and we checked it,” Bennett said. “After a few days of contemplating to play with it or get surgery, I chose surgery.”

Bennett also accused team doctor Patrick McKenzie of pressuring him to stay on the field. (McKenzie, though, has a reputation for taking a very conservative approach with injuries, as Jordy Nelson wrote on Twitter.) 

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers also posted an Instagram in support of McKenzie, saying that he trusts McKenzie and his opinion "implicitly" after two surgeries. 

“They tried to f--- over me,” Bennett wrote. “Dr. McKenzie trying to cover his own ass. After trying to persuade me to play thru a major injury and me choosing to get surgery. They have access to all my medical records. My shoulder wasn’t where it is now at the beginning of the season. I f---ed it up playing for the Packers.”

“Dr. McKenzie didn’t make [me] feel safe and was pushing [me] to play, which I thought was weird. Not that he was trying to get me play thru it but the way he was saying things. I didn’t trust him. So I got 3 other opinions from doctors, who all said I need to get it fixed. So I decided to do that. And they decided to waive me with some bulls--- excuse. Failure disclose.”

Bennett hasn’t had surgery, though. While he did sit out practice since the Packers returned from their Week 8 bye, he returned to practice with the Patriots on Friday. He’s listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Broncos. 

Bennett claimed that the Packers’ main motivation for waiving him was to clear cap space because he had indicated he was likely to retire after the season.

“They panicked. Thinking that I was trying to go on the IR and be on their books next year,” Bennett wrote. “When I mentioned that I would possibly retire. So they tried to f--- me before they thought I would f--- them. This was all about the money. All about the money. I get it. But don’t lie, homie. You know wtf was up.”