The New England Patriots are sending defensive end Michael Bennett to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a seventh-round selection that can turn into a sixth in 2021, per Adam Schefter and Jordan Schultz of ESPN.

The Patriots suspended Bennett for Week 7's win over the New York Jets for a dispute with an assistant coach. At that point, a trade out of Foxborough seemed inevitable.

New England essentially gave Bennett away to the Cowboys for free. The draft pick — that won't be used until 2021 — will be decided on certain conditions that are yet to be known. The compensation should not be surprising, considering the Patriots were looking not to have him back in the AFC.

This is the third time Bennett has been traded in the last 18 months. Previously, the Seattle Seahawks sent him and a seventh-round selection to the Philadelphia Eagles for receiver Marcus Johnson and a fifth-round pick. After one season, Philly sent him to New England along with a seventh-round pick for a 2020 fifth.

Bennett, 33, is a Texas native, as graduated from Houston's Alief Taylor. He then went to nearby Texas A&M and went undrafted in 2009. He caught on with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before moving to Seattle and earning three-straight Pro-Bowl nods in the process.

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On the year, Bennett has 2.5 sacks, three tackles for loss and four quarterback hits. In 2018, while starting 10 games, he tallied nine sacks, 15 tackles for loss and 30 quarterback hits. He now joins DeMarcus Lawrence and Robert Quinn to create a menacing pass-rush trio in the panhandle.