Eagles news: Michael Bennett, Doug Pederson discuss his OTA absence
It didn’t take long for the Philly media to catch up with Eagles defensive end Michael Bennett and their coach, Doug Pederson, upon the star defensive end’s return to the Novacare Complex.
It was one of the major topics of conversation during OTAs and, prior to that, when most of us learned of an impending legal issue. When might Michael Bennett return to the Philadelphia Eagles? Would his legal issues be a detriment to him playing the 2018 season?
For the first time in quite a while, there was some division in the Eagles’ fan base. The excitement of seeing Bennett added to an already impressive defensive line was replaced by the debate of whether or not he should be released.
Eagles head coach Doug Pederson and executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman have both stated their completely behind their star defensive end during this period.
On Monday, Bennett finally threw on a green jersey. It wasn’t long before the Philly media found him for a few words.
We had to get a quote from Bennett himself and the head coach, didn’t we?
Everyone was curious about Bennett’s absence at OTAs and NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Dave Zangaro shared a few words with ‘Number77’ following the first day of mandatory minicamp practice.
Take a look:
"It’s the only job in the world that’s voluntary that people expect you to show up. For me, the offseason is always about how to be a better parent and a better husband, so every year, I work with my kids, teaching them after school, coaching basketball, doing whatever I can. That’s the best thing about the offseason."
Bennett skipped voluntary OTAs for one reason, because they’re voluntary. He’s here now though. He seems to be adjusting well, and he seems to be excited about being a part of the locker room and Philly’s community.
Here’s more of what we got from his conversation with Zangaro:
"I think the culture is just one of a kind… I think coming here, you want to be an All-Star just like you’ve been… They’re expecting me to come in and dominate on the field, and that’s my job. Obviously, every day I take the field, that’s my mindset… I think you just want to be a great citizen… When you come into a city, you want to feel the atmosphere of the city… I think it’s an opportunity to grow as a person and grow with my family in a new situation."
Doug Pederson has his new defensive end’s back.
As expected, the head man, Coach Pederson, had to field a few questions on the new guy. It’s safe to say he’s excited about his potential. Here’s some of what he had to say:
"He’s a veteran guy, not worried too much about where he’s at right now… He can play inside, at tackle. He can play defensive end… It’ll be exciting. Everybody’s playing right now. We don’t have necessarily a depth chart. All the guys are rotating in and out, so that’s one of the things we have tried to do this spring is keep everybody in the mix. I’m sure he’ll be inside and outside this week a little bit, just getting a feel for it. Just trying to understand the defense and the terminology and how (defensive line coach] Chris (Wilson) is teaching that position will be something maybe a little bit new for him this week."
Don’t blink. Mandatory minicamp ends on Thursday. Then, there’s a break between now and training camp. Expect a lot of analysis over the next few days.