After finding out that Shaun Alexander and Cedric Benson visited the Lions on Tuesday, we are now learning more details about what exactly happened. Specifically, Alexander actually worked out for Detroit, whereas Benson simply visited. Another free agent running back, Vernand Morency, also visited the Lions and apparently worked out for them as well.
When asked why these players were brought in, Tom Lewand gave an answer similar to the one we heard when Rudi Johnson came in to work out right before the season started.
Lions CEO Tom Lewand said the Lions brought in Alexander and other players to check on their physical condition.
"We were just doing our due diligence just in case," Lewand said.
The Lions said the workout is part of a series of weekly workouts they have with free agents. They said no negotiations were in place.
Looking back at what Lewand said about the Rudi Johnson situation, this line sounds very familiar: “When we bring guys in for workouts and physicals and those kinds of things, it doesn’t necessarily mean that anything’s imminent. It means that we’re doing our due diligence.”
Considering that due diligence apparently can result in a signing, I'm a little worried as an Austin TV station is reporting (HT: Free Press) that Benson was in Detroit to sign a contract, which is why he missed an event for his charity.
Benson wasn't in town for the big announcement, but Martinez said there was a good reason. "Unfortunately, but fortunately, Cedric Benson is not here today,” he said. “He is actually signing a contract today to get back in the game with the Detroit Lions and the reason why that's a good thing is that the foundation will continue to grow as long as Cedric continues to do what he does on the field." It would surprise me if the Lions did sign Cedric Benson since he only visited and didn't actually work out for the team. On top of that, Tom Kowalski reports that a signing is not imminent, although we also heard that about Rudi Johnson and he did end up joining the team. I don't really understand why the Lions are so worried about running backs as that position is the least of this team's problems. The Lions haven't even had a chance to run the ball very much since they've been playing from behind in the first two games, and there is only so much a running back can do behind a mediocre offensive line anyways.