Michael Bennett’s Reaction To First Practice With Patriots

Michael Bennett is a nice addition to the Patriots roster, and he had his very first practice with the team.

The Patriots traded for Bennett earlier in the offseason after reaching an agreement with the Philadelphia Eagles. Bennett has his first practice with the Patriots on Tuesday as the team opened the mandatory minicamp. He skipped out of the voluntary OTAs, and this was his first game with the team.

“Everything is good,” Bennett said of his first practice with the Patriots. “Got great coaches, great players around. Definitely high standards out here. That’s what I’m used to as far as teams. It’s good to be out here and the opportunity to play with so many great players on defense as far as [Dont’a] Hightower and just everybody is just really good.”

Bennett is really excited to play alongside Hightower and other defenders. He praises other players who wore the Patriots uniform before him.

“I used to love watching Richard Seymour, Ty Warren – just so many great players here,” he said. “I just liked watching them. The opportunity to get a chance to play here, follow those guys, it’s just amazing. There’s always been a lot of great d-linemen whether it were Vince [Wilfork]. I’m just happy to be here.

“I just watched those guys. Those guys were really good – whether it was Andre Carter, whether it was Willie McGinest. Just a lot of good defenders out here – Tedy Bruschi, Ty Law. The list just goes on. Growing up, Richard Seymour was one of my favorite players. To think that I get to walk in the locker room where he played in, to think I get to sit in the same place, it’s just an honor for me to even think about that.”

Bennett is the top candidate to take over the spot Trey Flowers left in the offseason. He is able to do the same things that Flowers did in the defensive unit, and will probably be asked to line up on the edge as a true defensive end or kick inside on the enterior. Last season in Philadelphia, he totaled 34 tackles and nine sacks. In the playoffs, Bennett had six tackles, three quarterback hits and a sack.