Michael Bennett Comments on Inflated QB Contracts, Overreactions to Hits

Michael Bennett has spent most of the offseason angling for a new contract. Now, the Seattle Seahawks defensive end has decided to comment on the fortunes of others—specifically, the guys he's paid to bring down. 

In an interview with Brock and Salk on 710 ESPN Seattle, Bennett bemoaned the high salaries of quarterbacks and the level with which the league protects them. 

"Quarterback is the only position in the NFL where you could be mediocre and get paid. At every other position, you can't be mediocre," Bennett said, per Brady Henderson of ESPN.com. "If I was Ryan Tannehill and the most games I ever won was seven, how could you get a $100 million for that? I guess that's the value of the position."

Bennett would go on to name-check Houston's Brian Hoyer and Philadelphia's Sam Bradford in pointing out how quarterbacks are overpaid and overcovered. Bradford also drew Bennett's ire for his reaction to a controversial hit by Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs during their Week 2 preseason matchup:

"

Then quarterbacks get protected more than any other player. I mean, he gets hit in his knees and he's about to cry. 'They hit me in my legs.' Everybody gets hit in their legs. Every play somebody tries to hit me in my legs. So what makes him different? What makes his life better than mine? I've got kids. I've got stuff I like to do on the weekend. But because he gets hit in his legs, he gets a flag. He gets up with a sad face like the world just ended because he got hit. I mean, you got hit in an NFL game. Who cares? Get back up and be like, 'Good job.'

"

Suggs appeared to go purposefully low on a delayed handoff, hitting Bradford's legs and sending him to the ground. Bradford has missed most of the last two seasons because of ACL tears. Eagles players ripped the veteran Pro Bowler for the allegedly dirty shot after the game. 

"He was trying to take a cheap shot at the quarterback," Eagles tackle Jason Peters said, per Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun. "I’m pretty sure he planned it. I mean, we’ve practiced against them all week, so he was probably thinking about it."

The NFL has since cleared Suggs of any wrongdoing, per Kevin Patra of NFL.com. Bennett credited Peyton Manning and Tom Brady for their ability to take similar hits without complaint.

For those who believe Bennett's outspokenness is rooted in his own frustrations, that probably has some merit. Bennett admitted he is "unhappy" with his contract situation and considered holding out of training camp. He has three years remaining on the four-year, $28.5 million deal he signed before the 2015 campaign.

Also worth noting: Bennett, who name-dropped a number of the league's top quarterbacks, did not make a mention of teammate Russell Wilson. Wilson signed a four-year extension this month that puts him among the NFL's highest-paid players.

No word on whether Bennett thinks Wilson is worth it. 

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.