I continue to hear a lot of rumblings about the Bengals and unrestricted free agent Cedric Benson, who is still on the list of free agent running backs on the white board in my man cave at NFL Network.

The Bengals were interested in retaining Benson before the lockout, and there is still interest after his latest off-field red flag. The Bengals’ interest makes sense, as Benson fits the scheme in Cincinnati and the organization has money to spend. Keep in mind teams need to spend to 90 percent of the salary cap threshold.

The Bengals also resigned FB Brian Leonard, who has been a big part of their running game. But without Benson, who posted his second straight 1,000-yard season in 2010, Leonard and Bernard Scott are currently the top options.

The free-agent market for running backs has been soft thus far, with Joseph Addai, Ronnie Brown and Ahmad Bradshaw still without teams.

Posted in: Jason La Canfora  | comments  |