Plenty of NFL veterans looking for work
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Culpepper remains without a team. Ditto for former Jacksonville No. 1 pick, quarterback Byron Leftwich — whose slow delivery and injuries ruined his comeback chances in Atlanta last season. On the running back side, former MVP and 2005 rushing champion Shaun Alexander and the troubled Cedric Benson, who the Bears cut loose after two public intoxication arrests, are also unemployed. There are some other familiar names, like nose tackle Rod Coleman, cornerback Chad Scott and linebacker Takeo Spikes, on the street and all of them have played at a high level recently in the NFL.
With training camps opening next week, it's unlikely any of these players will find work immediately. What they will be doing (or their agents will be doing) is checking the daily injury reports of all 32 teams.
If Alexander wants to play this season, he doesn't want to walk into a situation where he's going to be benchwarmer. He wants the ball. Benson, though, has so many strikes against him — he also could be facing some Roger Goodell discipline — that they may keep him on the sidelines a bit longer. Benson, somewhat like Barry Bonds in baseball, has become radioactive. Does a team want to deal with the public relations fallout?
This is basically a tale of how the mighty, or the perceived special performers, have fallen.
After years of being a scoring machine for the Seahawks, Alexander had difficulty getting past the line of scrimmage last season. Yes, he had a wrist injury, but as one team insider told me, "What did the hand have to do with him not hitting the hole with any kind of explosion?"
Yes, Alexander looked like he had lost a step and whether he was running that way to protect his injured hand, only he knows. Seattle general manager Tim Ruskell didn't hesitate to jettison Alexander in order to sign former Dallas running back Julius Jones, who was always No. 2 in Big D to Marion Barber. The Jones signing was a bold move, but it said more about Alexander's demise than anything else. Two years ago, no team would have taken Jones over Alexander.
And while I may be judging the lifespan of Alexander as a NFL running back (has he hit the proverbial wall never again to be a factor?), on the flip side Benson really hasn't accomplished much — 1,593 career yards and 10 touchdowns — except to collect a big paycheck as the fourth overall selection in 2005.
Of course, his rookie season was ruined by a 36-day holdout and his dismissal by the Bears has become more of an indictment of GM Jerry Angelo and Coach Lovie Smith for drafting him. Other teams had him red-flagged for character, but the Bears took him anyway. And probably the worst thing, which will surely impact his return to the NFL, was how his Chicago teammates never really connected with him, while others questioned his toughness.
Right now, before training camps have begun, there isn't a market for any of these players. Of course, that could all change in the next month or so whenever a team loses a starting running back or a veteran quarterback. Injuries can give even the most suspect players a second chance. From the club perspective, it is all about need and survival.
There are four teams that lack depth at running back if they lose their No. 1 player. The Eagles are thin behind Brian Westbrook, and that's a team that would fit Alexander, who can catch. The Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns lack quality depth if Edgerrin James, Marshawn Lynch or Jamal Lewis, respectively, were lost for long stretches of the season.
The Miami Dolphins are also rolling the dice that Ronnie Brown is effective after knee surgery with only Ricky Williams in reserve. With Michael Turner now in Atlanta, the Chargers would be in a world of hurt of LaDainian Tomlinson ever went down. However, the Chargers aren't that keen on either Benson or Alexander.
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