Bengals willing to talk contract with Benson

Carson Palmer hasn’t seemed to quite regain his form since hurting his elbow back in 2008, and that’s why the emergence of Cedric Benson last year was a big deal for the team. As Palmer struggled, Benson picked up the slack and carried the load for the team. That’s why it’s no surprise the team is willing to talk about a new contract with him.

The Bengals signed Benson to a two year, $7 million contract last offseason, but Benson feels like he could be getting more out of the team. It’s hard to argue that Benson may have been underpaid last season, considering he put up over 1200 yards and averaged 4.2 yards per carry in 13 games. And since it seems like every player who feels they’re getting the short end of the stick money wise wants to try and re-do their deal with the uncertainty of everything between the league and the players, it’s hard to blame him.

But the Bengals may want to hold back on their willingness to award Benson. The Bengals haven’t been immune to doing stupid things, and rewarding a guy for one good season may not be in the teams best interest. I’d be shocked if Benson held out because he’s unhappy with his contract. So maybe the Bengals should let him ride out his current deal and see what he does this year, now that everyone is aware of what kind of threat he is.

It could be a pricy risk for the Bengals, especially if he has another good season. If he plays like he did last year, he’ll have way more leverage when it comes to contract talks. But that’s a risk the Bengals should be willing to take. Productive running backs are becoming less of a rarity in the NFL, and while Benson had a good year last year he didn’t have a great one.

Technorati Tags: Cedric Benson, Cincinnati Bengals, NFL

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