Where Are They Now: Cedric Benson, Running Back

AUSTIN, TX--There was a time when the name Cedric Benson conjured up images of power, patience, finesse, and greatness. He finished his college career as the sixth leading rusher in NCAA history and the second leading rusher in Texas Longhorn history. He was last spotted on NFL draft day being selected fourth by the Chicago Bears, who believed Benson would compete for the starting job and some day take his place among the great running backs of his generation.

Where is he now? Nobody knows. Benson dropped off the face of the earth after being drafted. Some say he pulled a ‘Ricky Williams’ and decided to travel the world. Some say he ran off with the circus. Others say he got married and settled down, far away from the glare of the media spotlight.

So where to begin? We’ll begin at the Chicago Bears practice facility in Lake Forest, Illinois, where head coach Lovie Smith barks out instructions to his players and coaches, none of whom are Cedric Benson.

“Cedric Benson,” Smith said after practice ended. “Yea I know that guy. He’s the guy we drafted this year, right? Running back? Dreadlocks? Yea, that’s the one. Is he still here? I have no idea. I’m pretty sure he practiced with us once or twice but then I kind of lost track of him. I guess if he was still here I would know about it. So my best guess is that he was either abducted by aliens and taken to their home planet for anal probing, or he’s so shitty that nobody notices he’s here.”

The Bears current running back, Thomas Jones, expected to compete with Benson this season for the starting job. When the season started, however, it was clear that it was Jones' job all the way.

He, too, often wonders what became of the golden child from Texas.

“Man, he was good,” Thomas recalled wistfully. “I remember watching him at Texas. When he hit a hole, forget about it. When we drafted him I thought ‘There goes my starting job.’ But then something happened. He never showed up. I thought I saw him running drills for us a couple weeks ago, but then again, I don’t know. He looked slow and weak and confused, so I doubt it was really him. Probably just someone who resembled him. Anyway, I’m can’t complain. I’m not the one that wasted millions of dollars on him.”

One person that did waste millions of dollars on Benson is Bears GM Jerry Angelo. He spends most of his time scratching his head, wondering aloud what became of the man who was supposed to save the franchise.

“Cedric could have been a great one,” Angelo said, staring longingly at a photo of Benson’s from his playing days in Texas. “That’s why we sunk so much money into him. It turned out to be a waste, obviously. We would’ve been better off flushing that money down the toilet. Every once I a while I think maybe he’s out there somewhere, and maybe he’s watching Bears football and maybe, just maybe, he’s thinking of me. Then I smile. Then I slam my head against the wall.”

Any search for Cedric Benson wouldn’t be complete without traveling to Austin to visit his alma mater, the University of Texas. Students here mostly just shrug when they hear Benson’s name. Some shake their heads, pondering what could have been, and others simply walk away. Yet one man who can’t walk away is Longhorns coach Mack Brown, who is still unable to come to terms with the mysterious disappearance of one of his greatest players.

“I can’t tell you how many nights I’ve sat up wondering what become of ol’Cedric,” said Brown, absentmindedly tapping a pencil on his desk. “There’s a lot of great memories there, and sometimes I smile remembering what it was like to hand him the rock and watch him go. But some people just slip through the cracks, you know? My theory is that he retired to a log cabin in the woods of Massachusetts, away from civilization, and started writing a book about civil disobedience. No, wait, that was Henry David Thoreau.”

There was one other story Brown heard about Benson that he thought was “too far fetched” to be true.

“I know this sounds stupid, but somebody once told me that after he was drafted by the Bears he decided to hold out for a better deal. They said he kept on holding out even though he was just a rookie and he was missing valuable days of training camp. They said everyone was urging him to come back, telling him that he was risking his career by staying, but he still wouldn’t come. Then, apparently, he did show up, but he was so far behind he ended up slipping through the cracks and being forgotten about. That’s a nice story for one of those TV movies but if you ask me, it’s a little far fetched. Cedric could never be that stupid, careless, selfish, and wrong-headed. Shit, nobody could.”