FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Tight end Martellus Bennett's return to the New England Patriots has ended after two games and 24 snaps. The team announced Monday that he was placed on injured reserve.
Bennett had a shoulder injury when the Patriots claimed him on waivers from the Green Bay Packers on Nov. 9. He had intended to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery when the Packers waived him, but he signed with the Patriots instead.
Bennett played through the shoulder injury in a Nov. 12 win over the Denver Broncos, playing seven snaps and recording three catches for 38 yards. A hamstring injury for Bennett was disclosed on the team's participation report after that game, and he attempted to play through that as well. He was on the field for 17 snaps in a Nov. 19 win over the Oakland Raiders (3 catches for 15 yards).
Bennett had been a limited participant in practice on Nov. 22, but then didn't practice the next two days and was inactive for Sunday's win over the Miami Dolphins.
In his first interview after joining the Patriots, Bennett said: "It was like one of those things, I talked to six or seven doctors about it and it could go either way. It was one of those things I felt I should get fixed. And then after trying to get it fixed and getting waived, you just get that vengeance in your heart. It's just like, 'That's how you're going to do it? Then f--- it. Let's go ball.'"
Bennett is due a $2 million roster bonus on the third day of the 2018 league year, and if the Patriots don't pick that up, he would be a free agent. Bennett previously said 2017 could be his last season, although he backed off that in an interview following the Nov. 12 game in Denver.
The Patriots were carrying four tight ends including Bennett, Rob Gronkowski, Dwayne Allen and rookie Jacob Hollister.
The team also placed leading special-teams tackler Nate Ebner on IR (knee). Ebner injured his knee Sunday while being tackled on a 14-yard run on a successful fake punt.