Bill Belichick had a funny way of convincing the Patriots’ newly acquired, injured tight end to take part in practice

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• Martellus Bennett joined the New England Patriots after the Green Bay Packers cut him with a shoulder injury.
• On Bennett’s first day with the Patriots, he surprised some people by practicing with the team.
• Bennett later said Belichick bluntly convinced him to get on the field, despite being tired and injured.

Tight end Martellus Bennett caused a stir when he practiced with the New England Patriots on Friday, just two days after being cut by the Green Bay Packers under the designation of failing to disclose an injury.

It was reported that Bennett has been playing through a torn labrum and torn rotator cuff, and Bennett said he was ready to opt for surgery when the Packers cut him. Bennett then signed with the Patriots.

It was a surprise, then, that Bennett was on the field practicing on Friday. On Sunday, after playing in the Patriots’ 41-16 win over the Denver Broncos and recording three catches, Bennett revealed to Sports Illustrated’s Peter King how Bill Belichick convinced him to practice.

“Bill was like, ‘Can you practice?'” Bennett told King. “I said, ‘I just want to go to sleep right now.’ He said, ‘Oh, it’s Friday. Just go out there and get some snaps.’ I think he knows how to talk to me. So I’m like, ‘All right, I’ll go out there.'”

Belichick and Bennett know each other, of course, from last season when Bennett helped the Patriots win a Super Bowl.

It’s unclear if Bennett will stay healthy enough to play the rest of the season, but from the sounds of it, Belichick has the secret sauce needed to motivate Bennett to get onto the field.