Patriots to acquire Eagles DE Michael Bennett for next to nothing

The New England Patriots are acquiring defensive end Michael Bennett from the Philadelphia Eagles, per Philly.com’s Jeff McLane. Bennett is the brother of former Patriots Super Bowl champion tight end Martellus Bennett.

The Patriots are still hoping to retain free agent Trey Flowers, but they now have an insurance plan in case Flowers becomes too expensive to retain. If New England retains Flowers, then they have a great rotation with Flowers, Bennett, Adrian Clayborn, and Deatrich Wise.

The 6’4, 275-pound Bennett is a similar player to Flowers and Deatrich Wise as he can play on both the edge and on the inside. He’s 33 years old, but is coming off a productive 9-sack campaign, ranking 10th in quarterback pressures, in his first and only year with the Eagles. He’s spent 4 years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and 5 years with the Seattle Seahawks.

Bennett is under contract for 2-years, $15.2 million, but he is looking for a pay raise.

Update: The Patriots are giving up almost nothing to add Bennett.

The Patriots are giving up a 2020 fifth round pick for Bennett and a 2020 seventh round pick. The Patriots don’t use their fifth round picks anyways and the expected value of a late fifth rounder is no different from a seventh rounder. Also, these picks are in 2020 (!) so this won’t affect the Patriots’ draft capital this season. New England is giving up the equivalent value of a seventh round pick to acquire a starting-caliber pass rusher in Bennett.

More on this story as it becomes known.