If Giants tight end Martellus Bennett doesn’t want to get moved to offensive tackle, he’s going to need to lose some weight.
Bennett, who signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Giants in March, has been hampered by a hamstring injury this offseason. And the inability to run is starting to show around his midsection, Giants tight ends coach Mike Pope said.
“He weighed in at 291 pounds last week. So I think that is probably a little too big for his legs to carry,” Pope said of Bennett. “We run a lot more than he might have been accustomed to. Plus we are in the middle of a weight program and the combination of those two things has caused him, especially, to have some problems with his hamstrings. He can’t afford to miss time, either. Because he needs every possible rep he can take.”
The 6-foot-6 Bennett has always been a big guy, but he was a big guy when weighing in at 265 pounds. At 291, he’s a fat guy. Giants tight ends Jake Ballard and Travis Beckum both suffered torn ACLs in the Super Bowl, and the Giants are counting on Bennett to get in good enough shape to play four quarters for them when the season starts.