C. Benson Still Unsigned

[sflegend89]

What do you guys think about bringing him in if the $$$ was right for us? (yes that is a big "if"). At the beginning of FA I would say he wasn't even on our radar, but after going unsigned this long his stock is down and his asking price has to be a lot lower. I've been an avid supporter of Ant Allen as our #2 back but I'd be lying if I said Benson didn't interest me. Benson had a 1000 yard season in Cincy, he's still got some game if you ask me. Great change of pace from rice as well. I think he would bring more production then Alllen or Pierce this year.


I think his asking price still might be a little out of our range but assuming the money is right for us, would you rather bring in Benson or begin to develop Allen or Pierce in that #2 RB spot?

[rmw10]

We have $600K left in cap space. We won't be signing anyone worthwhile.

[Greatness]

I personally like Double A and think he'd be OK back behind Ray Rice Running from Rutgers, but Pierce better be the number 2 after trading up. (Still don't think he was the target)

Signing Chris Benson wouldn't be something I'd oppose if the price is right. I don't know how he'll respond to being a role player and not a starter like in Cincy. Something to watch, though. Never thought we'd sign Housh'Meh'Zadeh, so anything is possible.

[D-Rey]

[quote name='Greatness' timestamp='1341202305' post='1094813']
I personally like Double A and think he'd be OK back behind Ray Rice Running from Rutgers, but Pierce better be the number 2 after trading up. (Still don't think he was the target)

Signing [b]Chris Benson[/b] wouldn't be something I'd oppose if the price is right. I don't know how he'll respond to being a role player and not a starter like in Cincy. Something to watch, though. Never thought we'd sign Housh'Meh'Zadeh, so anything is possible.
[/quote]

Who's that? Nah, I think we should stick with our HBs

[The Raven]

Lol @ this thread.

[sflegend89]

[quote name='The Raven' timestamp='1341206933' post='1094824']
Lol @ this thread.
[/quote]

Was listening to ESPN radio and we were one of the teams they mentioned when talking about Benson finally getting picked up, they said if he wants a title he'll take a smaler role on a team like the Ravens or the Packers. If he wants to chase money he'll end up with a team like the Dolphins or Raiders.. Get off your high horse man, it's a fair enough discussion to have. Guys go to winning teams in a smaller role/for less money all the time. Some guys chase titles and some guys chase money. That's why it's worth discussing. Housh came here for pocket change when he could've gotten more elsewhere, but not on a winning team. Benson's value isn't quite that low yet, but he certainly is a bargain player at this point even if he 100% wants money more then a title.

Personally, I think Benson probably is chasing the money a little bit more so I don't see him coming here when he could get more elsewhere.

But he's not a hot commodity by any means. if a team really wanted this dude on their roster he wouldn't still be a FA. His stock is way down. I think Miami or GB will pick him up eventually. But c'mon man, our FO could free up millions in cap space right now [i]if they wanted to[/i]. I just don't think our FO wants Benson enough to make some sacrifices down the line and do some financial maneuvering. That's my opinion. but maybe someone else thinks Benson wants to win a title more then anything right now. that's why you talk about it.

[Rav'n Maniac]

Not even taking the cap situation into consideration, I see the team sticking with what they have and only going with 4 RBs as they did last season, with Berry going back to the PS. Bringing in Benson would force AA or Pierce to the PS as well or one of the three would be released outright. I think the team likes what they have at present, as do I. That's why I don't feel they will even consider Benson.

[mhead66]

No.

First, as mentioned, we have 660K left on the salary cap.

Second - no, you know what you have with Benson - a pounder that will get you 3 yards. We don't know how high the ceiling is for Allen, Pierce, etc... but you want to give them the reps to develop into high quality backs.

Ray Rice didn't start his rookie year - would you want him backing up Cedric Benson? Pierce could have similar potential, but if Benson gets 8 carries a game, we won't find out about Pierce.

Remember, in most cases, a team benefits from having a player on their rookie contract, and after that, the player's salary usually skyrockets. Ray Rice made 770K per season his first 3 seasons... and now will make $7.7 Million this year. We have Pierce for 4 years on his rookie contract, making 500K - why pay Benson 2 Million to force the cheaper Pierce to the bench?

[Bazooka Joe]

I'd rather just see Pierce, Allen and the other kids step up instead of signing Cedric Benson. Training camp will tell the best story.

[Corvus]

Even if we had the cap space to make an offer he might accept, I'd say no. There's a reason we used a 3rd rounder on Pierce and I think the staff as well as most here on the forums are still high on the potential Allen brings as well.

The only way I could see our team realistically looking at Benson would be if it appears Ray Rice is going to hold out and not even sign his franchise tag in a couple of weeks. Although at this point a long term deal doesn't look like its coming (still optimistic!) I would be incredibly surprised if the above scenario happens..

[Ravensfan23]

I think RB is one of the position were young guys can make an impact early and often. We see young unknown RBs make a name for themselves almost yearly, and we're talking about a backup. I was on CSN Baltimore and they had an article about how much we'll miss Ricky, and I couldn't disagree more.

People look at Double A and Berry as late round undrafted guys, so they don't expect much from them. Well, Double A actually ran tough last season, although in the preseason, and I liked what I saw from him.

Peirce is a guy that comes from the same style of strecth zone system the Ravens moved to last season, so he should have a fairly easy transition into our offense.

I think the only concern right now, is can those guys pass block, but how often will they be on the field in replace of Ray on 3rd down. Although those guys will be chance of pace backs, Ray is the 3rd down back, more often then not, and he's not the strongest of pass blockers, so I think the young guys should be fine.

I think Benson would prove a sense of comfort, especially for the people who think that a holdout could resuilt in injury to Ray Rice.

Our backup RB has produce about 100 carries and 400+ yards and maybe 4 TDs and 14 catches over the last 2 years. I think our young guys can handle that type of workload with no problem.

[gabefergy]

lol no. Benson is awfully average and we really dont need another back. Give the young guys a chance to prove themselves.

[black blood purple passion]

Let the kids play!

[PWNEDbyDEANO]

No thank you to Mr. Mediocre. Never thought much of the idea of him coming here and I'm looking forward to seeing what the combination of AA and Piercecan do.

[RavensWin09]

we don't have the cap space yet and with allen and pierce who im excited about, i don't see the need. he might get into more problems anyway.

[baltravens]

Plain and simple, I am satisfied with Allen and Pierce competing to back up Rice.

[ravensfan2430]

There are too many good young running backs in the league for teams to want old ones. A "veteren RB" gets one year younger every year.

[Free Agent]

I don't want Ced Benson, and to be honest, Im not even too enthused that we drafted Bernard Pierce. I wouldve been totally fine with Anthony Allen as our #2 and Damien Berry as our #3.

[Militant X 1]

[color=#4b0082][font=trebuchet ms, helvetica, sans-serif][b]it is time for us to show confidence in our young lions. it's time to let them roar! we don't need him![/b][/font][/color]

[GrimCoconut]

Let's leave him unsigned. He really isn't that great, has issues with fumbling, and I think he's at the end of his career. While I appreciate your thread, I just don't want any other RBs on this team. We have enough. I like Rice, Allen, Pierce, Berry.

[ellicottraven]

He will be picked up by some team once training camps resume... most of the recognizable names will be with injuries creeping up during training camps...

[Dfence4champs2052]

He's a tough runner but I don't see any real value in bringing in Benson. Plus, he's irresponsible and starting to fumble.

[Tiz]

[quote name='sflegend89' timestamp='1341209529' post='1094828']


Was listening to ESPN radio and we were one of the teams they mentioned when talking about Benson finally getting picked up, they said if he wants a title he'll take a smaler role on a team like the Ravens or the Packers. If he wants to chase money he'll end up with a team like the Dolphins or Raiders.. Get off your high horse man, it's a fair enough discussion to have. Guys go to winning teams in a smaller role/for less money all the time. Some guys chase titles and some guys chase money. That's why it's worth discussing. Housh came here for pocket change when he could've gotten more elsewhere, but not on a winning team. Benson's value isn't quite that low yet, but he certainly is a bargain player at this point even if he 100% wants money more then a title.

Personally, I think Benson probably is chasing the money a little bit more so I don't see him coming here when he could get more elsewhere.

But he's not a hot commodity by any means. if a team really wanted this dude on their roster he wouldn't still be a FA. His stock is way down. I think Miami or GB will pick him up eventually. But c'mon man, our FO could free up millions in cap space right now [i]if they wanted to[/i]. I just don't think our FO wants Benson enough to make some sacrifices down the line and do some financial maneuvering. That's my opinion. but maybe someone else thinks Benson wants to win a title more then anything right now. that's why you talk about it.
[/quote]

For a guy who was on the verge of being out the league whn Cincy got him, I think it's understandable that money is his motivation.

I like him as he shows toughness that's great for the division but he isn't needed

[Ravenslifer]

No - we have good runningbacks, draft picks, that need playing time and will be cheaper, regardless of whether Rice plays or not.