The Philadelphia Eagles are locked in on defending their crown in the 2018 NFL season. However, there is one notable name missing from the early portion of organized team activities.
Newly-signed defensive end Michael Bennett has yet to take part in any of the practices thus far. Despite his absence, head coach Doug Pederson is not worried about his preparation, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk:
“I really don’t have any concern going forward with him acclimating himself to the defense,” Pederson told reporters. “You’ve been around long enough to understand Jim [Schwartz’s] style and what we teach, and it fits his strength, and that’s roll off the ball as a D-lineman. So it’s just a matter of getting him in here and getting around his teammates.”
It is encouraging to see Pederson not get too worked up about Bennett's absence. Regardless, he acknowledged that he does expect the veteran at practice sooner rather than later.
“I’m not concerned,” Pederson said. “I do expect him here, yes.”
It has been an eventful offseason for Bennett, to say the least. He was let go from the Seattle Seahawks following the team's disastrous 2017 campaign. The headlines did not waver from Bennett after it was reported that he had a pending assault charge on him.
Fortunately, Pederson was able to confirm that his troubles off the field have nothing to do with him being on the field at the moment.
Despite his outlandish personality, Bennett is still one of the premier players at his position. He registered 40 tackles and 8.5 sacks in the 2017 campaign. That said, the sooner the Eagles can get him acquainted with the new system, the better it will serve him going into this season.
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