Michael Bennett is now a Philadelphia Eagle, but that hasn’t stopped him from sharing his thoughts on the state of this former team, the Seattle Seahawks.
The defensive lineman opened up to The Ringer’s Bill Simmons during an appearance on his podcast this week and was asked if changes were felt after running back Marshawn Lynch’s brief retirement and trade to the Raiders.
“Oh yeah, man. Marshawn’s personality is so big and he’s such a – he’s one of those dudes, he’s really like Nina Simone: He’s just misunderstood,” Bennett replied. “People misunderstand him all the time. He’s such a great guy when it comes to doing community. He’s such a great teammate. He shows up to everybody’s thing. He plays hard. When he practices, he practices hard.
“So when he left, you could feel it. He was just that guy that had swag that made the Seahawks feel like a different type of team.”
But Bennett wasn’t finished there, he went on to explain what a locker room needs, what type of player can define a culture: the unpredictable.
“You don’t want a whole bunch of Russell Wilsons,” Bennett said. “You gotta have three or four Marshawn Lynches on your team. At any moment, you never know what they’re going to do. Whether they’re going to come to work or dropkick the coach. You know, Latrell Sprewell. You just never know. You can’t have a whole bunch of nice people on a sports team.
“You need one good guy that does everything right, you know, prays and does all the stuff then goes, ‘Yeah! Let’s go play!’ Then you need some thugs. That’s just how it goes.”
Seattle has parted ways with a number of big-name players this offseason, and while they might not rise to the level of “thugs,” their absence might be felt similarly to the loss of Lynch. Bennett himself being a prime example.
While Lynch didn’t say much in Seattle, he had a message, and everyone listened. Following his departure, Bennett and defensive teammate Richard Sherman assumed the roles of the outspoken faces on the team, stepping up and speaking out on issues important to both football and the state the world.
Now, similar to Lynch, Bennett and Sherman are gone, and a void will be felt in the locker room.
So if Bennett is right, the Seahawks will need a new face of the team – someone to come forward and say what no one else will, and it won’t be “good guy” Russell Wilson.
