Bad News Benson

So Cedric Benson was arrested and charged with boating while intoxicated over the weekend in Texas. Stay hot, Ced. You're just making this too easy for the Bears.

I mean, Benson was already on wafer-thin ice with the team after firmly establishing himself as a bust for three years. The Bears impatience with the fourth overall pick in the 2005 draft was never more evident than during the first day of the NFL Draft last month when they spent their second round pick on Tulane running back Matt Forte rather than going after one of the highly touted quarterbacks that were still on the board.

At 6-2 and 222 pounds, Forte has the size to run between the tackles and take punishment, but he also has the speed to bounce it outside. He can pile up the yards--he finished second in the nation with 2,127 rushing yards last season--and he can pound it in from the stripe--he also scored 23 touchdowns in 2007. In other words, he's the three-down back the Bears thought they were getting when they spent their first round pick on Benson three years ago. While Benson was busy telling anyone who'd listen that he wasn't drunk and didn't resist arrest, Forte was busy making a strong first impression during the Bears rookie three-day minicamp this weekend.

How fitting.

Make no mistake, the Bears plan is to have Forte be their feature back this season with "the other" Adrian Peterson and Garrett Wolfe on background vocals. As for Benson, he might find himself out of a job on June 1. The good thing about all of this for fantasy owners is that the Bears probably won't let the uncertainty of the situation with Benson and their running back depth chart linger into training camp. If Benson is let go and Forte assumes the starting gig, I could see moving him inside the top-25 running backs on my cheat sheets.