New England Patriots Tight End Martellus Bennett Plays Through a Torn Rotator Cuff on Sunday

After the Green Bay Packers waived Martellus Bennett with the "failure to disclose a medical condition" designation last week, a lot of football enthusiast actually expected the veteran tight end to undergo surgery to repair the torn labrum and torn rotator cuff in his shoulder.

After all, he did say that he wanted to go under the knife in October when the injury got worst after the Packers' game against the Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 8. However, Packers team physician Dr. Patrick McKenzie allegedly pushed him to play through the pain.

Well, no one was stopping him from getting work done on his shoulder after his controversial exit from Green Bay. But when his former team, the New England Patriots, called and told him they have claimed him off waivers, everything changed and Bennett knew he just had to continue playing this season.

He even suited up for the Patriots in Sunday's 41–16 victory over the Denver Broncos.

"At first, I told my agent no teams [should claim] me because I was still trying to get the surgery. When Bill [Belichick] called and said they claimed me, I was like, 'No [expletive] way.' We had a quick conversation. I was just like, 'Let me think about it. Let me call you back,'" Bennett told reporters after the game, via WEEI.com.

"I felt like I should get the surgery. But at that point, after all I've been through, I was just like 'All right, what the [expletive]. Let's go,'" he added.

A lot of people were actually surprised when Bennett received the green light to play on Sunday because many thought he was going to sit out a few games to let his shoulder injury heal. However, the veteran tight end really wanted to play and he did quite well in limited minutes on the field. He finished the game with three receptions for 38 yards.