Bucs Acquire Michael Bennett From Chiefs

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In the only other NFL trade deadline deal worth mentioning today (I posted on Chris Chambers to San Diego earlier), the Kansas City Chiefs dealt RB Michael Bennett to the Tampa Bay Bucs for undisclosed draft picks in 2008 and 2009 based on performance criteria.

This is a logical move for the running back-depleted Bucs who have already lost Cadillac Williams and Michael Pittman to injuries. Michael is not the most durable back, but he still has good breakaway speed and he can catch the ball out of the backfield. He also has enough experience to read defenses, pick up blitzes and protect QB Jeff Garcia when called upon to do so. Michael should be able to give the Bucs 15 touches a game.

The Chiefs, on the other hand, are banking on the successful return of RB Priest Holmes to the team which gives them, potentially, a most impressive one-two punch with Larry Johnson in the running game. Should that plan not work out, they’ve really got nothing left to fall back on so losing a quality player like Michael Bennett is a bit of a gamble for KC.