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When the New England Patriots traded for Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Michael Bennett last week, they made him the second member of his family to join the club: his younger brother Martellus Bennett spent 2016 and parts of 2017 with the Patriots, and earned a Super Bowl ring playing tight end for the team. Safe to say that he knows a thing or two about playing in New England and adapting to the Patriot Way.
His brother, on the other hand, lacks such experience which is why the ex-Patriot took to Instagram on Friday to offer some advice on how to survive in one of the toughest environments in all of football (slightly adapted from social media speak for easier readability): “Congratulations to the best dressed defensive lineman in football, Michael Bennett, on signing with the Patriots,” Martellus Bennett wrote in his introduction.
“I’m excited to see you do work on the field and in front of the best fans in all of sports,” he continued. The former tight end, who retired from the NFL after the 2017 season, then listed 15 names within all levels of the organization and gave a scouting report as well as tips on how to encounter each one of them.
On head coach Bill Belichick: “Just stay out of Bill’s way and he won’t [mess] with you. Although I think you both will have a lot to discuss as you both love history.”
On defensive backs Devin McCourty and Jason McCourty: “@mccourtytwins Is a hater. Dev is but not Jason he cool.”
On fullback James Develin: “@jdevelin is a good dude to talk to about life you’ll like him he has a thirst for growth as a human.”
On quarterback Tom Brady: “@tombrady is real down to earth we bonded over interior decor you to will probably bond over traveling and places you love outside of the US.”
On safety Duron Harmon: “@dharm21 has a wonderful family def take the kids over there.”
On wide receiver Julian Edelman: “@edelman11 will probably piss you off one day don’t punch him. Lol. He just had one speed and that’s hard.”
On linebacker Dont’a Hightower: “@_boomtower is smooth y’all will probably have the most in common on defense in style and demeanor as competitors.”
On team dietitian Ted Harper: “Ted the nutritionist is dope he reads a lot as do you. He really knows his [stuff].”
On strength and conditioning coach Moses Cabrera: “Moses is a good dude but he be tripping with the workouts.”
On director of scouting administration Nancy Meier: “Nancy I’m sure you meet her she’s the best.”
On assistant athletic trainer Daryl Nelson: “Darryl [sic] is my guy you’ll get to know him he’s the black trainer. Hahaha. They have the best training staff.”
On safety Patrick Chung: “@23patrickchung Is a dog like you out there one of the toughest guys you’ll like playing with him.”
On director of head coach administration Berj Najarian: “Berj is the guy with all of the answers don’t believe the hype about anyone else being the person with answers. I plan on poaching him from Bill and the team one day to come help run things @theimaginationagency I told him this.”
On tight end Rob Gronkowski: “I forgot about @gronk he’s a lot smarter than people think.”
Martellus Bennett also offered advice about where to live in the area (“no offense but Foxboro is not the place to be unless it’s game day”) before telling his brother to just be himself — and again praising the organization’s culture and people: “It’s a good group of guys that are very welcoming and just want to compete and win.”
The Instagram post and Bennett’s full, unedited statements read as follows: