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CHICAGO (WBBM/AP) - Cedric Benson's lack of production on the field was enough to put his gig on thin ice. Two alcohol-related arrests this spring and it's push comes to shove.
The Bears cut the running back Monday, saying he displayed a pattern of behavior that the team will not tolerate.
One of Benson's attorneys, Sam Bassett, accuses the Bears of giving up too soon.
"You can't judge a movie by the first five minutes and I think he was judged by the first five minutes of two-hour movie. All I was hoping was the Bears might do is wait another 30 minutes or maybe an hour into the movie before they made an ultimate decision on his employement," Bassett said.
In a statement, Benson apologizes for using poor judgment, but strongly believes he's not guilty of any crime.
Benson never lived up to the expectations of a first round RB, drafted 4th over all in 2005.
``Cedric displayed a pattern of behavior we will not tolerate,'' General Manager Jerry Angelo said in a statement. ``As I said this past weekend, you have to protect your job. Everyone in this organization is held accountable for their actions.''
The troubled running back did not participate in organized team activities on Monday after telling the Chicago Tribune he would, and whether he showed up at Halas Hall was not clear.
The Bears had already made it clear they were losing patience with Benson when they drafted Tulane's Matt Forte in the second round in April. Three ineffective, injury-plagued years in which he at times annoyed teammates with blunt comments left management looking for another running back - and that was before the recent brushes with the law.
Benson's rocky relationship with the Bears took another turn for the worse when he was arrested on a drunken driving charge in Austin, Texas, early Saturday after failing a field sobriety test. The former first-round draft pick was released on bond. (Photo: Benson's booking photo after his Saturday arrest.)
The latest incident came on the heels of a May 5 arrest in which Benson was charged with boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest on a lake near Austin. Benson has said neither charge is true, and those cases are pending. He has also said police used excessive force against him, and several witnesses have backed him up in interviews with print and TV outlets.
``When individual priorities overshadow team goals, we suffer the consequences as a team,'' Angelo said. ``Those who fail to understand the importance of 'team' will not play for the Chicago Bears.''
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