Bennett: Packers knew about injury, tried to force me to play through it

Warning: Story contains coarse language

Martellus Bennett took aim at the Green Bay Packers on Friday after the team waived him Wednesday, reportedly attaching a "failure to disclose a medical condition" designation to his release.

Bennett ripped into the team in a series of text-based Instagram stories, saying the Packers knew about his shoulder injury - which is reportedly a torn rotator cuff - during his free-agent visit in March and cleared him.

The tight end said the injury worsened as the season wore on. Faced with the decision to either play through it or undergo surgery, Bennett chose the latter.

Bennett alleges that a Packers physician, Dr. Patrick McKenzie, attempted to persuade him to play through the injury instead, and the doctor is now trying to "cover his own ass."

The veteran says Green Bay released him out of panic, fearing he would need to be placed on injured reserve and his contract would remain on the books for the 2018 season.

Bennett believes his late October admission that he would "probably" retire at the end of the season motivated the Packers to cut ties.

"They tried to fuck me before they thought I would fuck them. This is all about money," Bennett wrote.

Bennett said he intended to finish the season before realizing the extent of his injury.

"I chose my health over the 'team.' They chose money over me," he wrote.

Bennett was claimed by the New England Patriots and practiced Friday after passing his physical, according to Mark Daniels of the Province Journal. He didn't practice for the past two weeks while in Green Bay.