Bengals running back Cedric Benson thinks that after he was sent packing from Chicago, the Bears blackballed him around the league.
Whether Benson is right or wrong to characterize communications between the Bears and other teams as “blackballing,” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis says it’s true that he had a “very candid” conversation with Bears coach Lovie Smith before signing Benson.
In this week’s Sports Illustrated, Damon Hack writes about the surprising turnaround that Benson has had in Cincinnati after being labeled a bust in Chicago. And Hack quotes Lewis as talking about his conversation with Smith before bringing Benson aboard.
“Lovie was very candid,” Lewis said. “He felt like Ced had come into a situation that maybe he wasn’t ready for. There were mixed emotions [in Chicago] on whether he should have been there. On Ced’s part he probably didn’t handle it correctly, and he did things that didn’t endear him.”
That suggests that Smith gave Lewis an evaluation of Benson that was less than flattering, but then again, Benson was a fourth overall pick who was released after starting just 12 games in three seasons. Any coach would give a player an unflattering evaluation after that kind of performance.
But Lewis decided to sign Benson shortly after having that conversation with Smith, so Smith’s comments obviously didn’t poison the well to such an extent that Lewis would think Benson couldn’t help the Bengals win.
And help the Bengals win he has. Benson is fourth in the league with 720 rushing yards, and the Bengals are tied for first in the AFC North with a 5-2 record. Whatever was said in that candid conversation, Lewis is unquestionably happy that he signed Benson.
