Still recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery, Seahawks defensive lineman Michael Bennett won't be in uniform when Seattle visits the Patriots this weekend for Sunday Night Football.
Count New England quarterback Tom Brady among those who won't miss him.
"If he's not the best defensive player in the league, I don't know who is," Brady said, per FieldGulls.com. "He's right up there at the top, so they've got good genes in that family, I know that."
Of course, Michael's brother, Martellus, plays tight end for the Patriots, operating as a dangerous pass-catching machine alongside game-wrecker Rob Gronkowski.
With 37.5 sacks since 2012, Michael Bennett has been among the most valuable players in the league, despite being voted to just one Pro Bowl. His on-field play suggests the awards should have come sooner for a defender who has haunted the dreams of quarterbacks since his days in Tampa Bay.
Even with Bennett watching from afar, Brady will still have his hands full with Seattle defenders Cliff Avril and Frank Clark on Sunday night.
The winner here? The fans. After a slew of hyper-blasé prime-time tilts, Seahawks-Patriots looms as one of the juiciest matchups of the year.
