Early Wednesday afternoon, McCarthy said in his news conference that Bennett had met with the doctors Tuesday and “there’s a number of opinions that he’s working through.” Later in the day, he was cut.
The only thing that could have caused the Packers to do that was if Bennett decided he wanted to have season-ending surgery. Given he had not been on the injury report all season, the Packers probably saw it as a ploy to either get cut so he could play for a contender or collect pay while on injured reserve.
From the perspective of those left in the locker room to salvage something out of this season, it may appear that Bennett is bailing out on the team. Most of the players asked about Bennett's possible retirement after this season didn't know what to make of it.
The Packers undoubtedly were worried about that as well as setting precedent that a player could announce his retirement one week and then report he needs surgery the next, conveniently allowing him to collect his money while on injured reserve.
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