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The Green Bay Packers have had difficulty finding someone reliable at running back for several years now. The team hasn’t had a 1,000-yard rusher since 2009, but they also have Aaron Rodgers, and have won a Lombardi trophy in that time frame. But that doesn’t mean a good running back wouldn’t help in Green Bay.
Year after year, it seems like they just have a few decently talented backs, that never perform consistently throughout a whole season. Ryan Grant was a good back, never a great back, and now he’s barely worth a roster spot. The Packers thought they had the answer a year ago when they signed Cedric Benson, but his season ended in October.
So what are the Packers doing about their problem at running back? They’re bringing Benson back in for a visit this week. Really!?
Sure, maybe he’ll be fully healed and ready to go for the season, but why take the chance? Why even consider re-signing a guy that seemed like he was down to his last chance a season ago? That injury isn’t going to make him any better this year. Benson is 30, with a checkered past, how much better can he really be for Green Bay in 2013?
If they just want to add him to the roster for depth, fine. I still don’t really see the point, unless he comes so cheap that it’s a ‘why not’ situation. If he’s willing to play for minimal money, then it becomes a lot less risky, and understandable.
The Packers are still better served to look for help early in the draft. They need to get a guy who can come in right away and be a difference-maker out of the backfield. Rodgers doesn’t need an elite guy behind him, just someone who can get the team 1,000 yards a season.
Fans will have to hope the Packers have someone targeted in the draft, because it’s much more likely they’ll find an answer there, than on the free agent market.
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