Michael Bennett present but not practicing at Seahawks minicamp

RENTON – Michael Bennett’s unhappiness with his contract isn’t keeping him away from the Seahawks’ minicamp.

An ankle injury will likely keep him from practicing, however.

All Seahawks were present and accounted for Tuesday when the team began a three-day minicamp that is mandatory for veteran players. That included Bennett and fellow defensive end Chris Clemons, who had both missed portions of the voluntary offseason program and would have been subject to more than $75,000 in fines for missing all three minicamp practices.

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Bennett, who has made clear since last offseason his desire for a new contract, said sitting out wasn’t much of a consideration.

“No, not really. I just want to be a great teammate, show up, show my support, do everything I need to do so we could get back to Houston, Texas,” he said, referring to the site of this season’s Super Bowl. “I’m very motivated to get back to the Super Bowl. Obviously, it’s in my hometown. Me and my brother (Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett), that’s all we talk about and that’s all it’s about.”

Bennett said he injured his ankle during a workout and that he expects to be fine by the time training camp begins late next month, adding that he’s in the best shape of his career after an offseason of intense training. Asked if he’ll be able to participate in any of the three minicamp practices or if he’ll only be able to hold court with the media like he did Tuesday, Bennett said he’ll “pretty much be a standup comedian for the rest of the week. You’re lucky. Most people pay a lot of money to see comedians of my stature, so it should be fun.”

The money the Seahawks are paying Bennett has been a point of contention since last offseason, when he first made it known publicly that he’s unhappy with the four-year, $28.5 million deal he signed in March of 2014. While the Seahawks may not disagree that Bennett deserves a raise after leading the team with 10 sacks and making his first Pro Bowl last season, they are undoubtedly wary of the precedent that would be set by renegotiating with a player whose contract has more than a year remaining.

“That’s up to the organization what they do,” Bennett said when asked how he feels about his contract situation. “I just want to be a great teammate and a great player.”

Bennett was more willing to talk about how he believes he compares to some of the defensive linemen around the NFL who have cashed in with mega deals. The latest was Philadelphia’s Fletcher Cox, who signed an extension on Monday that is reportedly worth $102.6 million over six seasons. The Giants’ Olivier Vernon (five years, $85 million) and Jacksonville’s Malik Jackson (six years, $85.5 million) were two others who got paid handsomely earlier this offseason.

Bennett was responding to a question about Frank Clark when he said Seattle’s second-year defensive end will one day be a $100 million player. Is Bennett one himself?

“Of course I am,” he said. “If you look at the stats of those guys … what they’ve done in the last couple of years, I’m at the top of that list in every statistical category if you look at it: tackles for loss, quarterback hits, hurries, games played, positions played. I mean, it speaks for itself.”

Asked if he pays attention to deals like the one Cox signed, Bennett didn’t let the subject get in the way of his quirky sense of humor.

“I pay more attention to things like Donald Trump and stuff like that, political campaigns going on right now, different things going on in the world, too much beef, people eating too much beef, stuff like that,” said Bennett, who last year endorsed Bernie Sanders. “So I don’t really pay attention to too much contracts. It can make your stomach hurt. It’s like seeing your favorite girlfriend get married to someone else.”

Bennett’s relationship with coach Pete Carroll doesn’t seem to have been affected by his contract situation. He called Carroll a great coach and said he’s “very different in the sense of being the coach that cares about his players and keeps up with what’s going on,” mentioning his recent visit to Marshawn Lynch’s Beast Mode store in Oakland as an example. Bennett said Carroll texted him earlier in the offseason to check in on him. Bennett told him about his trip to Africa and sent videos of some of his workouts.

Carroll was asked about how Bennett put his contract situation aside last season and had the best year of his career.

“He did show me a lot, and I’ve told him, quite frankly, how impressed I was at how he handled himself and how he was a leader, and an obvious leader in a very positive way, just like we would hope,” Carroll said. “There was a time when Kam (Chancellor) wasn’t here and we didn’t have him, and it was hard for Kam to get going again when he first got back. He was just getting started. Michael never backed off. He really was pushing to create the influence that he could in a very, very positive way. So I have a lot of respect for Mike.”