Ex-Bear Martellus Bennett on Jay Cutler: 'I don't like to talk about the ex-girlfriend'
The Bears traded Bennett to the Patriots in the offseason
Jay Cutler's list of exes continues to grow.
The first serious breakup, with Jets receiver and Cutler's former BFF Brandon Marshall, resulted in one side (Marshall) taking multiple parting shots while the other side (Cutler) remained quiet. But when Cutler did speak, he delivered the money quote, which so succinctly summed up the state of his relationship with Marshall.
"No one really likes their ex-girlfriend just after a breakup," Cutler said last summer, after Marshall didn't include Cutler as one of his favorite teammates and refused to call him best quarterback he's ever played with.
It certainly sounds like Martellus Bennett -- a member of the Bears at the time of that quote -- remembers what Cutler said. Bennett, who the Bears jettisoned to the Patriots this offseason, appeared on ESPN's First Take on Wednesday.
When asked about Cutler, Bennett confirmed what we already knew: their relationship is so over, even if Bennett appreciates the time they spent together. And to get his point across, he stole a line right out of Cutler's script.
Asked about Jay Cutler, Bennett says: "I appreciate Jay Cutler ... You know I don't like to talk about the ex-girlfriend too much."
— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) June 15, 2016
Bennett, the big-bodied pass-catching tight end, and Cutler, the rifle-armed quarterback, were actually a great match. During the duration of Bennett's three-year stay in Chicago, he caught 12 touchdowns from Cutler. Bennett's beef, which resulted in his trade to New England, wasn't about Cutler -- it was about his unwillingness to buy into what the new Bears' regime, led by John Fox and Ryan Pace, was selling.
As the Chicago Tribune reported:
In the end, there were too many worries inside Halas Hall that Bennett's ongoing fixation on securing a bigger contract couldn't be squelched. There were pervasive doubts as to just how committed he was to helping the Bears become a champion.
And from the tight end himself there seemed to be minimal effort to conform to the unselfish and focus-driven culture that coach John Fox and general manager Ryan Pace have pushed to create.
Bennett's stubbornness, however, paid off. He's now paired with Rob Gronkowski and is catching passes from arguably the greatest quarterback of all time, Tom Brady. So really, he should harbor no hard feelings toward Cutler, who helped Bennett reach his current status as a top tight end. Unlike Marshall, who went from Cutler to Ryan Fitzpatrick, Bennett came out on top, which maybe explains why Bennett refused to take a shot at Cutler while Marshall seized every chance that popped up.
As for Cutler, he might come out as the loser of the Bennett breakup. His new starting tight end, Zach Miller, gelled with him last year, but Miller's never served as a dependable No. 1 tight end in his career. According to Dan Durkin, Bennett scored 13 touchdowns in 50 red zone chances from 2013-2015 (a previous version of this article incorrectly stated that he scored those 13 touchdowns last year). There's no simple way to replace that sort of production.
In a strictly football sense, Bennett won the breakup. He won't miss Cutler, but Cutler will miss Bennett.

That's not to say Cutler can't build off his career season. Alshon Jeffery sat out a good-sized chunk of last year with injuries. Kevin White didn't play in a single game. The Bears upgraded the offensive line this offseason.
Plus, his hair-game is already on point. So, in that sense, Cutler already won the breakup.
















