Cedric Benson Arrested for BWI

By Benjy Lipsman in News on May 5, 2008 4:45PM

Cedric Benson has never lived up to his lofty draft status and giant paycheck, so you'd think that the Bears running back would try extra hard not to give the team another reason to look to replace him.

And yet that's just what Benson allegedly did this weekend, when he was charged with boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest after an incident on his 37-foot yacht near Austin, Texas. Benson's boat was boarded during a random check and he supposedly failed a field sobriety test administered by officers. After Benson initially refused to come to land for further testing and refused to wear a life vest, he was sprayed with pepper spray. He claims he was cooperative, yet they maced him anyway and roughed him up further once on land.

"They gave me a field sobriety test, told me to say my ABCs and told me to count from 1 to 4 up and down," said the Bears running back. Um... we're not sure that Benson is smart enough to perform those tests completely sober so maybe he really wasn't under the influence of anything.

It'll be interesting to see how the Bears deal with this situation, especially given the recent incidents involving the likes of Lance Briggs and Tank Johnson. Will they buy Benson's claims that he did nothing wrong? Will the team await further details before addressing the situation? Or will they use this as an excuse to dismiss Benson from the team?

AP Photo/ Austin Police Dept.