Martellus Bennett Says Jimmy Garoppolo Was 'Being A B----' In 2016, And 'You Can't Win With A B---- For A Quarterback'
BOSTON (CBS) -- Martellus Bennett won a Super Bowl in 2016, his first year with the Patriots. He doesn't have the fondest memories about the start of that season.
With Tom Brady serving his four-game DeflateGate suspension, then-third-year quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was set to steer the ship for the first month of the year. He led the Patriots to a victory in Week 1, and he was incredible in Week 2, before suffering a shoulder injury. That injury kept Garoppolo out of action in a short week on a Thursday night game against Houston, and also kept him out for the Patriots' home date with the Buffalo Bills in Week 4.
Speaking on Devin and Jason McCourty's "Double Coverage" podcast, Bennett vented about his feelings on Garoppolo apparently deciding at the last minute to not play vs. the Bills.
"Bro, we lost two games [in 2016]. One of 'em was because Jimmy Garoppolo was being a b---- and didn't, he quit before us on the last ... He decided not to play right before the game," said Bennett, who caught a touchdown from Garoppolo in Week 2 of that season. "So we went there, Jacoby came out and played with a [bleeped] up thumb and played his heart out. But Jimmy was just being a b---- about it all, and he's still being like ... that's why, you can't win with a b---- for a quarterback, first of all."
Those are, quite obviously, some strong words about a former teammate. But Bennett wasn't done.
"So that was the whole thing with him, he didn't want to come out and like do anything because his agent was trying to protect his body or some s--- like that, which I can't fault him for that. But like, you should've made that decision on Thursday, not on Sunday, you know what I'm saying?" Bennett said. "So anyway, so he's not going out there, so Jacoby straps up and we lost to the Buffalo Bills, which we shouldn't have lost. It was just a last minute, trying to make adjustments for what Jacoby could do."
(You can watch the clip here, with a very obvious warning for language.)
Garoppolo didn't get more opportunities to start in New England, and he was traded just before Halloween in 2017. He'd start five games for his new team in San Francisco late that season, before signing a monster contract for five years and $137.5 million.
Garoppolo has since started 29 of a possible 53 games for the 49ers.
Interestingly enough, when Bennett rejoined the Patriots in 2017, he did so under suspicious circumstances. He had a shoulder injury for which he apparently wanted surgery, but the Packers -- according to Bennett -- pushed him to play through the injury. That situation led to the Packers releasing Bennett, who told teams not to claim him so that he could have shoulder surgery and retire. But the Patriots ended up claiming Bennett, who showed up and suited up to play not long after being unable to play for Green Bay. (He lasted just two games, due to shoulder and hamstring injuries.)
In any event, regardless of his own history, Bennett very clearly holds no fond memories of his brief time sharing the field with Jimmy Garoppolo.