Orange Dinosaur is done: Former Bears TE Martellus Bennett to retire

Martellus Bennett, who set the Bears’ single-season receiving record for a tight end before being traded to the Patriots and winning a Super Bowl, is retiring after 10 seasons.

Friday night, he wrote on Twitter that he’d “decided to move on from the world of football and into the fantastical and wondrous world of creativity. I’m beginning what I believe to be my life’s work.” Bennett owns The Imagination Agency, which produces cartoons and children’s books.

Calling himself the “Orange Dinosaur” and the “Black Unicorn,” the outspoken Bennett caught 90 passes for 916 yards in 2014, earning a Pro Bowl berth, but never got the raise he wanted from new general manager Ryan Pace. He was traded in March 2016 to the Patriots, who won the championship in his only season there.

Bennett signed a three-year deal with the Packers last year, but he was cut after seven games after the team accused him of failing to disclose a medical condition. The Patriots claimed him off waivers and he played two games before going on injured reserve. He hinted during the season that this year would be his last.

Playing for five franchises — the Cowboys, Giants, Bears, Patriots and Packers — Bennett finished his career with 433 catches for 4,573 yards and 30 scores.