The Chicago Bears have suffered a great loss as one of their star players perished in a horrific car accident.
Cedric Benson, a former running back for the Chicago Bears, passed away this past weekend in an Austin, Texas motorbike accident.
Benson’s age was thirty-six.
Benson and the woman he was traveling with him on the motorcycle struck a minivan that was driving out onto the road just before 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, according to Austin police.
At the scene, the woman also passed away.
Benson was one of the most productive rushers in NCAA and University of Texas history prior to entering the NFL.
Benson played a significant role in the Longhorns’ comeback under head coach Mack Brown, who expressed his condolences at Benson’s passing on Sunday.
After a lengthy tenure at Texas, Brown, who recently returned to coach North Carolina, said of the player, “He was as good as you’ll ever see as a football player and as tough as they come.” But above all, I’ll never forget what a unique individual he was. He was one of those really intelligent and interesting guys that we always enjoyed talking to. He is unique and will be sorely missed by a great number of people. Although it’s really painful, we consider ourselves extremely lucky to have had him in our lives.”
Benson was a standout recruit for high school coming out of Midland, West Texas. He is eighth on the Texas high school career rushing list, per Texas Football magazine. From 1998 to 2000, he guided Midland Lee to three consecutive state titles—the only three in the school’s history.
Between 2001 to 2004, Benson attended Texas, where his 5,540 yards placed him second on the campus and seventh in NCAA history. With the Longhorns, he amassed 64 touchdowns in his career and was named the 2004 Doak Walker Award winner as the nation’s best running back.
Entering the university’s Hall of Honor in 2014, he was the only player in school history to rush for at least 1,000 yards in four seasons.
The Bears selected Benson with the fourth overall pick in the 2005 draft, and he helped the team make the playoffs the following year.
2008 saw Benson released by the Bears following two arrests for alcohol-related offenses within a five-week period.
From 2008 to 2011, Benson played his best years in Cincinnati, starting as the team’s featured back on a team that qualified for the playoffs twice but was eliminated in the first round both times.
Bengals President Mike Brown stated, “Cedric was a fine football player for us.” “He played a principal role for several years here, including a couple of playoff runs.”
2009 was Benson’s first of three consecutive seasons with 1,000 yards rushed, as he led a playoff push and finished with a career-high 1,251 yards. When Andy Dalton and A.J. Green were rookies in 2011, he also guided the Bengals to the postseason.
“He was like a blossom after he accepted our system. Jim Anderson, the former running backs coach for the Bengals, stated, “He just blossomed.” “He provided us with something we lacked. While the people we had were complementary, Cedric filled in a gap in our team. He was a decent man. It stings because he was one of my guys. Life is not long enough.”
Benson spent one season with the Green Bay Packers, where he began the first five games of 2012 before going down on October 17 at Indianapolis with a Lisfranc fracture that ended his season. Prior to the foot injury, he caught 14 catches for 97 yards and ran for 248 yards and a touchdown on 71 carries while playing for the Packers.
Benson amassed 6,017 yards and 46 touchdowns in his NFL career.
“He was from Texas, and he showed his Texas toughness in leading us to a division championship in just his second season with us,” Mike Brown, the owner of the Bengals, remarked. “His three seasons of 1,000 yards or more demonstrated his talent. His untimely and tragic death has left our organization with tremendous sorrow.”
After his playing career, Benson settled back in Austin and founded NUFCED, a foundation to support impoverished children and families. Among such efforts was aiding in the restoration of the house belonging to the initial casualty of a string of bombs in Austin in early 2018.
