After all of the drama that surrounded Tank Johnson and his off-field issues, Cedric Benson had to know that the Bears wouldn’t tolerate him getting into too many scrapes with law enforcement.
Maybe he thought it was ‘three strikes and you’re out,’ or he just doesn’t care, but after Benson was arrested this weekend for his second alcohol-related offense in the past month, the Bears had enough, and they released the 2006 #4 overall pick today.
There’s been some questioning of the severity of both issues, with police abuse alleged in the May incident and his agent saying he wasn’t drunk when he was stopped this past weekend, but when you fail a field sobriety test like Benson did on Saturday morning, it doesn’t look good for you. Maybe he thought the cop told him to juke the line instead of going straight ahead, but whatever the case may be, he’s got to look for a new team now.
Frankly, the Bears organization may be thanking him for slipping up, simply because it allows them to have a good reason to cut ties with a player who was a disappointment in his three seasons in Chicago.
The Bears traded away 1,200 yard rusher Thomas Jones to the New York Jets in March 2007 to allow Benson the chance to have a starring role after a ‘breakout’ 2006, when he ran for 647 yards and six touchdowns for Chicago’s NFC champion team.
However, all Benson did was repay their confidence by running for 674 yards and four touchdowns, averaging a paltry 3.4 yards per carry.
The fact that Chicago drafted Tulane’s Matt Forte in the second round of this year’s draft should’ve been a telling sign to Benson that nothing was assured for him in the Windy City. Who knows, maybe he saw that the writing was on the wall and figured that instead of staying and fighting for the starting spot, he’d get himself released.
Now, Forte, who was likely going to get a fair amount of carries as a rookie anyway, has a clear shot at earning the starting job before too long, and he goes from the outside looking in on my top 10 fantasy football impact rookies to the top five.
As for his former teammate, is there a team that’s going to take a chance on him? Before any Cowboys haters start chirping, Dallas already has a full backfield, they already have a power back, so they don’t have a place for him. And even if there was a spot available, Jerry Jones wouldn’t use it on him.
Unlike fellow former Longhorn Ricky Williams, Benson doesn’t have a track record of being proven and productive, which must be why the Miami Dolphins have retained him all this time despite a couple of suspensions and a retirement.
In 2002, Williams had a career season of 1,853 yards and 16 touchdowns. In his three seasons, Benson has run for 1,593 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 3.8 yards per carry. Not exactly the kind of numbers that make me want to take a flyer on him late in my fantasy draft, much less for a GM to take a chance on him outside of making him prove himself and earning a roster spot in training camp.
I’m sure he isn’t the biggest troublemaker in the world, but he certainly hasn’t put himself in a favorable position, both in his personal life and his work life.
If he could get his head on straight, he could be the player that the Bears hoped he could be when they drafted him three years ago, but it’ll have to be with another team.
If not, he can join Lawrence Phillips, Maurice Clarett, and the laundry list of other promising talents whose highlights on the gridiron aren’t what we remember them most for.
Do you think another NFL team should take a chance on Benson, or is it a matter of time before he ends up in the CFL?
