We're still weeks away from games that matter, but Michael Bennett's mouth is already in midseason form.
The Seahawks' defensive lineman on Tuesday unfurled a heat-seeking riff on the bulging pay scale for less-than-stellar quarterbacks.
"Quarterback is the only position in the NFL where you could be mediocre and get paid," Bennett told 710 ESPN's "Brock and Salk" program. "At every other position, you can't be mediocre. If I was (Miami's) 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.
"And then it's like, you're sitting at home and there's breaking news and it says that Brian Hoyer is the quarterback of the Texans. I'm like, who cares? That's not breaking news. It's really not breaking news."
Bennett -- the rare gem in a landscape of warmed-over athlete-speak -- wasn't finished:
"There's some mediocre quarterbacks in the NFL that make a lot of money," Bennett said. "You take a guy like (Eagles passer) Sam Bradford -- he's never played really in the last three years, but he's made more money than most guys in the NFL."
Bennett also pointed to the debate generated by a low hit Bradford took from Ravens pass-rusher Terrell Suggs during Saturday's preseason tilt, calling it just more special treatment for guys under center.
"Then quarterbacks get protected more than any other player," Bennett said. "I mean, he gets hit in his knees and he's about to cry, making a whimpering sound: '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.'"
Bennett specifically named Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Cam Newton for the grit they display after taking hits, but not the Johnny-come-lately types, saying: "There's a whole bunch of young guys who haven't done anything in the NFL that are looking for flags."
Unhappy this offseason with the four-year, $28.5 million contract he inked in 2014, Bennett knows he'd make more if he played signal-caller instead of crushing them. He has plenty of incentive to do the latter come September.
The latest Around The NFL Podcast discusses Jordy Nelson's knee injury and gives its winners and losers from Week 2 of the preseason.
