ostrogoth Posted February 27, 2008 Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 The surgery Cedric Benson underwent to repair his fractured ankle required a small plate to hold the bone together. A source told the Chicago Sun Times that the plate and surgery "may cost him a step." Really, how much slower could he be? Benson can trigger a $1.73 million bonus by rushing for 701 yards in 2008, but probably won't get there. The Bears seem likely to find a new starting back this offseason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ostrogoth Posted February 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2008 The Bears still have the three running backs who played last season: Cedric Benson, Adrian Peterson and Garrett Wolfe. Benson, who has pocketed nearly $13.8 million for three years of remarkable mediocrity, has a cap number of $3.35 million with a base salary of just $820,000. He's coming off a broken left leg that required a small metal plate to be inserted to hold bone together. One source said the injury may cost him a step. Imagine, a slowed-down Benson, slower even than the one who couldn't find top gear last year. Benson came up 27 yards shy of triggering a conditional roster bonus worth $1.73 million. He has the same provision in his deal for this year, which means he'll make another $1.73 million if he gains just 701 yards or hits some other easily attainable -- in theory, anyway -- milestones. Why continue to pay him when he's regarded as such a bust that NFL Network draft guru Mike Mayock said he cashed in on a dinner bet he made with a prominent football evaluator. ''I felt he was a pretty good kid, but I didn't think he had -- from a work-ethic perspective -- what you needed from a No. 4 pick in the draft,'' Mayock said. ''After God and family, if football is not next, you have a problem.'' If football isn't next for Benson, as Mayock suggests and fans suspect, then why is he still on the team? Remember, general manger Jerry Angelo has said character evaluation is now a top priority in the team's drafts, and he predicts a better success rate in the future as a result of some of the things the Bears are doing. Angelo went so far as to say the team will take more players than ever off its draft board after researching their football character and citizenship issues. Shouldn't that concept be applied to guys already on the team? Or is the standard different with former first-round picks? The Bears have been furiously re-signing their players and working contract angles with most of the members of their roster. They'll be working to bring back Lance Briggs and Bernard Berrian through the start of the free-agent period that opens Friday. With a priority of re-signing their own, it doesn't look like they'll have the resources or inclination to make a big splash on the free-agent market. Presumably, that means they're going to use the draft to replace the players they're losing. If that's the case, they need more picks. They almost have to trade down out of the No. 14 overall selection if that is the plan. They love to trade down and have had success doing so. That would seem to preclude selecting Illinois running back Rashard Mendenhall, the Niles West graduate whom Ron Turner recruited to Champaign. ''Love him,'' Turner said of Mendenhall, who ran a 4.45 40-yard dash at the NFL combine Sunday while weighing in at a stout 225 pounds. ''I liked then what I like now: his size, his speed, his instincts, his feel for the game. He's a very good player.'' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LT2_3 Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 The surgery Cedric Benson underwent to repair his fractured ankle required a small plate to hold the bone together. A source told the Chicago Sun Times that the plate and surgery "may cost him a step." Really, how much slower could he be? Benson can trigger a $1.73 million bonus by rushing for 701 yards in 2008, but probably won't get there. The Bears seem likely to find a new starting back this offseason. You got a link for this? I'd like a bit more detail about Benson "possibly" losing a step other than "a source". "A source" told me that if I buy a ticket, I may win the lottery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackie hayes Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 You got a link for this? I'd like a bit more detail about Benson "possibly" losing a step other than "a source". "A source" told me that if I buy a ticket, I may win the lottery. It's rotoworld. OP, you should cite where you take something from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ostrogoth Posted February 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 You got a link for this? I'd like a bit more detail about Benson "possibly" losing a step other than "a source". "A source" told me that if I buy a ticket, I may win the lottery. http://www.suntimes.com/sports/mulligan/81...mully26.article Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 Mend - en - hall! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iguana Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 Mend - en - hall! I have a feeling he'll be a Bear if he's at 14. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ54 Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 It's easy to say he may lose a step after the surgery. He might also gain a step if he actually works hard at rehab. Right now none of us know. Regardless we need help at RB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Da Bears 88 Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 Rashaan Salaam, come on down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scs787 Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 possibly lose a step??? wow, I dont like the sounds of that at all. Seriously if we are sticking with orton or grossman as our starting QB then we need a ground game. After hearing this i really hope Mendenhall is there at 14 and we take him. if hes not id draft an OT at 14 the put together a package of our extra 3rd rounder + future picks to get a 1st rounder and get jonathon stewart. Free agency is rather thin too when youre looking for a feature back. The biggest names out there are Jamal Lewis (who knows what jamal lewis we get, didnt he suck for a few years after that big season he had), Michael Turner (would he be able to carry the load) Julius Jones(maybe???) and of course Noah Herron (lol im a big Northwestern football fan). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason Posted February 29, 2008 Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 I have a feeling he'll be a Bear if he's at 14. If the Bears were to draft Mendenhall at 14, it would go down as one of the stupidest draft picks in NFL History. Not only because it's bad from a team perspective, because you either are completely giving up on a first rounder, or admitting that last year's third rounder is worthless, but also because it will be yet another first round RB picked by the Bears that will amount to jack in the NFL. Mendenhall was a stud in college, but he'll be slightly-above average at best in the pros. To use an Angelor phrase, Mendenhall isn't a special player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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