Cedric Benson: What Is He Thinking?

[swisher]

Bears' Final Offer

What a way to start your NFL career.

[Fiddy]

Wilboun on PTI made a good point. As a 1st round RB, you are only going to get one shot at a big contract because of the way you are going to be used. Take Edge for example, now that he is looking for big money everyone is saying that he is getting old and his "tires" are getting worn out. This is Benson's one chance to make the big money especailly since he is a back that will pound the ball between the tackles constantly...

[Txn_in_Oki]

And it is also a chance for him to crash and burn and not play worth and a sack full of hammers. Sorry, I just don't feel that a rookie who has never played a down in the pros has any place holding out.

Besides the Bears have played this game with a back before, does Curtis Enis ring a bell?

[Huge]

Originally Posted by Fiddy

Wilboun on PTI made a good point. As a 1st round RB, you are only going to get one shot at a big contract because of the way you are going to be used. Take Edge for example, now that he is looking for big money everyone is saying that he is getting old and his "tires" are getting worn out. This is Benson's one chance to make the big money especailly since he is a back that will pound the ball between the tackles constantly...

Agreed.

But Cedric is holding out because he thinks he should get a contract equivalent to that of Phillip Rivers' from last year because Rivers was the 4th overall pick. He's holding out thinking he's going to get a bigger contract than the 2nd overall pick who also happens to be a RB. It's simply not going to happen. What the Bears have offered is more than fair (more than what Cadillac Williams got from Tampa Bay, less than what Ronnie Brown got from Miami). Cedric's just being really stupid about this.

[hot pickle]

like I said when the bears drafted him, he won't want to play for the bears
he was was kind of crying when he got drafted and, i said after that those were tears of sadness not of joy, but yall didnt believe me

[Huge]

Troy Williamson was crying when he was drafted by the Vikings.

Same reason?

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by Fiddy

This is Benson's one chance to make the big money especailly since he is a back that will pound the ball between the tackles constantly...

I'm fresh out of sympathy, everyone has signed but him and the market for
2005 is set. At this point I can only imagine that he msut be getting very
bad advise from his agent.

[awtysst]

Originally Posted by Fiddy

Wilboun on PTI made a good point. As a 1st round RB, you are only going to get one shot at a big contract because of the way you are going to be used. Take Edge for example, now that he is looking for big money everyone is saying that he is getting old and his "tires" are getting worn out. This is Benson's one chance to make the big money especailly since he is a back that will pound the ball between the tackles constantly...

FIne. However, isnt 17 million bucks in guranateed money "big money" in the NFL? I mean he is the 4th rd pick and a rb. He cannot expect to make more then the number 1, 2, or 3 picks. This offer is more then fair in my mind. In fact if I was Chicago I would consider cutting he offer every week he is not there.

[awtysst]

Question: If he does not sign with the Bears what would happen? Does he go back into the draft or does he become a FA and able to sign with anyone? Perhaps this is a passive agressive attempt to not play for Chicago?

[texasguy346]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

... everyone has signed but him and the market for
2005 is set. At this point I can only imagine that he msut be getting very
bad advise from his agent.

I tend to agree with you about that. I think it was 610 that asked Charlie Casserley about this, and he didn't want to get into details but basically said they start out by showing the player and his agent how the contracts have increased by percentages for the past several years for guys picked in a similar position. They then make a contract offer accordingly, and if they're receptive to it then the deal gets done fairly quickly. However, once the players around the pick start getting signed and everyone starts to get slotted they make a contract offer according to the players drafted around the draft pick and dont budge much out of that realm whether it's more or less (generally less than offered before). I heard the interview a few days ago so I might have missed a few details but that was the meat of it. Ced isn't going to get the Bears to budge much now that everyone around him is signed.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by texasguy346

However, once the players around the pick start getting signed and everyone starts to get slotted they make a contract offer according to the players drafted around the draft pick and dont budge much out of that realm

Precisely. The #3 pick, B.Edwards with the Lions and the #5 pick, C.Williams with the Bucs is the Markets range set for Benson: #5 money is the floor and #3 money is the ceiling. Pretty simple right ? Should be, but apparently Benson wants as much or more than Edwards is getting and I can't blame the Bears for telling him to take a hike.

[Fiddy]

Originally Posted by awtysst

Question: If he does not sign with the Bears what would happen? Does he go back into the draft or does he become a FA and able to sign with anyone? Perhaps this is a passive agressive attempt to not play for Chicago?

He will go back into the draft next year...

I heard that he is still using his agent that he used when he signed the minor league deal to play for the Rockies. Baseball agents are so hard-headed that he could also be a factor...

Originally Posted by texasguy346

I tend to agree with you about that. I think it was 610 that asked Charlie Casserley about this, and he didn't want to get into details but basically said they start out by showing the player and his agent how the contracts have increased by percentages for the past several years for guys picked in a similar position. They then make a contract offer accordingly, and if they're receptive to it then the deal gets done fairly quickly. However, once the players around the pick start getting signed and everyone starts to get slotted they make a contract offer according to the players drafted around the draft pick and dont budge much out of that realm whether it's more or less (generally less than offered before). I heard the interview a few days ago so I might have missed a few details but that was the meat of it. Ced isn't going to get the Bears to budge much now that everyone around him is signed.

The problem may also be the percent increase because a QB was the 4th pick (Rivers) last year and may have gotten more money than the 3rd pick (Fitzgarald) but I'm not sure what the contracts were so i'll have to find that out. Benson may be trying to get the full percent increase but since he is going off of QB money, the Bears may not want to give him the full increase.

Sticky situation, I hope he signs soon...

[OzzO]

Originally Posted by dunta23

like I said when the bears drafted him, he won't want to play for the bears
he was was kind of crying when he got drafted and, i said after that those were tears of sadness not of joy, but yall didnt believe me

WWED

What Would Eli Do?

[281]

Originally Posted by dunta23

like I said when the bears drafted him, he won't want to play for the bears
he was was kind of crying when he got drafted and, i said after that those were tears of sadness not of joy, but yall didnt believe me

Dunta cried like a baby when we drafted him.

[hot pickle]

alright im gonna, appoligize for that comment, but to me it looked like benson wasnt to happy to be drafted by the bears and him not signing yet, maked me think that i was right,

so sorry if it offended anyone

[Youngstown Colt]

He was crying because he made it, I'm sure most appreciated that

[Davis37]

I like Ced Benson, and think that he will do good things for the Bears when they sign him. I think he is acting very um... "metally challenged" right now. All he is doing is losing "value" by holding out. If he didnt want to play for the Bears he could have "pulled an Eli" on them. All he is doing now is pissing off the team that drafted him, in turn getting worse offers than before. His trade value is also dropping because he is now getting a bad rep. He needs to get a new agent and sign a contract before he makes an even bigger fool out of himself. Im just glad that we havent have any players pull this kind of crap with the Texans yet (knock on wood)

[PapaL]

Originally Posted by awtysst

Question: If he does not sign with the Bears what would happen? Does he go back into the draft or does he become a FA and able to sign with anyone? Perhaps this is a passive agressive attempt to not play for Chicago?

We would enter next years draft. Its been done a few times before. I dont think the blame is only on the player, the agent is also to blame. But honestly, would you want to play for the Bears if you were him? In theory he could not sign with them, enter next years draft and probably still be a top 5 pick. He has run the ball a lot in his career, maybe a year off wouldn't be so bad for him.

[Grid]

17 million is more than most people make in a lifetime. take your huge paycheck and play ball fool.

[TheOgre]

Originally Posted by dunta23

like I said when the bears drafted him, he won't want to play for the bears
he was was kind of crying when he got drafted and, i said after that those were tears of sadness not of joy, but yall didnt believe me

I still don't believe you.

I think he was happy to be drafted 4th overall after all of the critics said he was too slow and had been run into the ground at Texas.

Now he is trying to get the money that he thinks he deserves. He is delusional in that regard. Hopefully he comes to his senses soon.