Cedric Benson may be returning to the arch-rival of the team that originally drafted him. NFL Network reports that the Green Bay Packers are meeting with Cedric Benson today. On August 12, 2012, Benson signed a one-year deal with the Pack worth $825,000. On October 7, Cedric Benson suffered a Lisfranc injury to his foot and got placed on IR.
He only played three games with Green Bay last year, and averaged just 3.5 yards per carry. I thought the NFL was closing the book on the 4th pick of the 2005 NFL Draft, but apparently the Packers and Cedric Benson are ready to give it another go.
When the Bears picked Benson 4th overall in ’05, he became the highest drafted Bears player since Dan Hampton in 1979 an the highest drafted running back in franchise history since Walter Payton. Of, course the career of Cedric Benson and the career of Sweetness are two very different stories. Cedric Benson began his Bears career with a 36 day holdout, and never came even remotely close to living up to the 4th overall pick hype.
On June 9, 2008, Cedric Benson was released by the Bears following his second alcohol-related arrest in five weeks. This guy is kind of like the Lindsay Lohan of tailbacks- he always seems to be in court, and much of the time those legal issues involve drinking.
On June 29, 2010, Benson was arrested for assault with injury after reportedly punching a bartender in the face.
On July 17, 2011, Cedric Benson was arrested in Austin, Texas for a misdemeanor charge of assault causing bodily injury to a family member. He served five days in jail for that one.
On January 23, 2013 if was disclosed that Cedric Benson was charged with having animals run without control, and ticketed in December 2012 and again in January 2013 by Manitowoc County, WI authorities.
So with a rap sheet like this, he was the perfect fit with the CinciNAUGHTY Bengals; and that’s where he enjoyed the biggest success of his NFL career. Benson went on to record his first 1,000 yard rushing season in 2009 and he set a Bengals franchise record with six games with over 100 rushing yards. He finished 8th in the NFL in rushing with 1,251 yards, despite playing just 13 games. He then set a Bengals playoff record with 169 rushing yards in a loss to the Jets.
This must be what the Packers see in Cedric Benson. He brings so much baggage to the table, I don’t see why any team would really be interested in him at this point in his career. Apparently, Green Bay still thinks he has something left in the tank though.
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net. He’s also an author who also contributes regularly to MSN, Fox Sports , Chicago Now, Walter Football.com and Yardbarker
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