Philadelphia, PA (Best E Casino) - In three disappointing NFL seasons,
Chicago Bears running back Cedric Benson has forged a reputation as a player with limited instincts.
Now, it seems Benson's affliction extends to off-the-field matters.
Roughly one month after making national headlines via an arrest for boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest, Benson was picked up early Saturday morning for suspicion of drunk driving.
Austin, TX police said Benson ran a red light, and was arrested after a series of sobriety tests were performed. Benson, who refused breathalyzer and blood tests at the scene, argued to a Chicago-area TV reporter that he passed the sobriety tests. In a text message to WMAQ reporter Peggy Kusinski, Benson reportedly wrote, "I aced the field test, check the video."
No video has been released in connection with the incident.
In the previous case, which occurred on Lake Travis outside of Austin, Benson also claimed he was falsely arrested, and was handled aggressively by officers. That case is pending.
What is also up in the air at the time of this writing is Benson's status as a member of the Bears.
The team didn't exactly rise to his defense in the wake of the boating incident, even when there was some reason to believe that Benson was indeed innocent. On Saturday, the organization was far less equivocal.
"There was alcohol involved, that's all we know," Bears general manager Jerry Angelo told the Chicago Tribune of the latest incident. "We are certainly going to take this seriously. Disappointment is a too often-used word when talking about Cedric. The number one lesson of every player is protect your job."
Benson was scheduled to meet with team officials on Monday, and it is then that he will likely learn his fate. If the No. 4 overall pick in the 2005 Draft is kept around, it will be the first of two major upsets he must pull off, with the next coming when cuts are made on the eve of the regular season.
Chicago used a second-round Draft choice on Tulane running back Matt Forte back in April, and offensive coordinator Ron Turner has already praised Forte's ability and mental makeup, even before he has faced any live contact (wink, wink - contact is forbidden at NFL mini-camps but the league is not interested in enforcing the policy).
With reliable veteran Adrian Peterson and miniature but intriguing local favorite Garrett Wolfe on the roster as well, head coach Lovie Smith could feel safe in trimming Benson from the depth chart. (Benson is scheduled to make just $820,000 in base salary in 2008, though the salary cap hit for cutting Benson would be in the neighborhood of $3.3 million based on the way his $17 million in original guarantees were allocated).
The club could also feel safe in avoiding a P.R. backlash. There isn't a bigger pariah among frustrated Bears fans than Benson, who has been simply the latest in a string of skill-position busts for the organization.
After sitting behind Thomas Jones for two seasons, Benson's would-be coming- out party in 2007 was not particularly well-attended. The Texas product rushed for 674 yards and three touchdowns in 11 starts before losing the rest of his season to a broken ankle. The symbol of the team's free-fall from an NFC Champion to a 7-9 also-ran, Benson averaged just 3.4 yards per carry for the league's third-worst rushing team.
If Benson was a better guy, the good citizens of Chicagoland might not be so passionate in their disapproval. But the second-leading rusher in Longhorns history immediately rankled the public with a 36-day contract holdout during much of his rookie training camp of 2005. Once he finally reported, Benson was not a favorite in the locker room, with his attitude, work habits, and loner status all negatively impacting his popularity.
And now, there's this.
During a period in which Benson needs to prove to the Bears and the NFL- viewing public that he's serious about becoming a legitimate NFL player, the 25-year-old instead can't keep himself out of unseemly situations.
He maintained a tad of the moral high ground following the boating arrest, since independent witnesses at the scene vouched for Benson. You'll find fewer folks willing to side with Benson after his second alcohol-related arrest in a five-week span.
A thinking person might have expected Benson to keep a low public profile given his shaky status with the Bears. Instead, he was (at the very least) out drinking again. And in his car, allegedly driving erratically, just hours before dawn. In Austin, where he was already the biggest sports story of the spring. In other words, no wonder this guy has trouble finding a hole between the guard and tackle.
Unless he can convince the Bears that his troubling recent past is an aberration, and that he still has something to show on the field, Benson appears destined to fall down the same bottomless pit that has consumed many a highly-touted Chicago Draft choice.
Rashaan Salaam (1995) and Curtis Enis (1998) preceded Benson in the defunct rushers category, while quarterback Cade McCown (1999) and wideout David Terrell (2001) were other skill players who saw their careers derailed thanks to some combination of questionable character, poor play, injury, or all three. Rex Grossman - who has to be pleased that the spotlight is on someone else at this point - is a couple more interceptions from having his "bust" status rubber-stamped.
Benson's latest episode is yet another sad chapter for a historic franchise that seems to lose two yards for every yard gained when it comes to locating offensive talent.
A comparison that nicely sums up Benson's on-field career in Chicago as well.
