Sunday, August 21, 2005

Cedric Benson holdout- what is he thinking?

You really have to wonder when a guy drafted 4th in the draft is still holding out well into the preseason. Not that this is underheard of, but lets look at the situation. The guy picked fifth, if I remember correctly it was Cadillac Williams, has signed and so Cedric Benson (who the Chicago Bears picked fourth in the NFL draft) would logically expect to make a little more than Cadillac. The third pick in the draft, Ronnie Brown, has also signed, and Benson would have to expect to make a little less than him logically. Well apparently that logic does not apply here because even considering the Benson is basically slotted based on the other two and also considering that each team has a set amount of money it can pay rookies, Benson should be pretty well locked into a relatively small range. Granted there are other variables like signing bonus, incentives and the length of contract that can be negotiated, but you have to wonder if Benson is getting bad advice from his agent.

One would think Benson would want to get in camp so he can learn the system (how many high draft pick failures can you think of at running back (I can think of many) but apparently Benson is most concerned by money. Or his agent is, take your pick. Bottom line though is that he needs to be signed and get into camp now before this whole season is a waste.