Earl Bennett
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Earl Bryan Bennett (born March 23, 1987) is an American former professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player who was a
wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
for the
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
of the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL). He played
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
for the
Vanderbilt Commodores The Vanderbilt Commodores are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt fields 16 varsity teams (6 men's teams and 10 women's teams), 14 of which compete at the National ...
and was selected by the Bears in the third round of the
2008 NFL draft The 2008 NFL draft was the 73rd NFL draft, annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York (state), New York ...
. After his playing career, he became the director of player development at Vanderbilt.


College career

A three-time All-SEC selection at Vanderbilt, Bennett left school as the all-time SEC leader in receptions with 236. Although later surpassed by
Jordan Matthews Jordan Armand Matthews (born July 16, 1992) is an American professional football tight end. He played college football for the Vanderbilt Commodores and was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft. Matthew ...
, Bennett still ranks near the top of Vanderbilt's career receiving leaderboards.


Awards and honors

*2005 – First-team All-SEC (Coaches) *2005 – Second-team All-SEC (AP) *2005 – First-team SEC All Freshman Team *2005 – Sporting News Second-team Freshman All American *2005 – Scout.com First-team All American *2005 – Rivals.com Second-team All American *2006 – Rivals.com Third-team All American *2006 – First-team All-SEC (AP) *2006 – Second-team All-SEC (Coaches) *2006 – Rivals.com First-team All-SEC *2006 – Scout.com First-team All-SEC


Records

*He set the
Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...
record for career receptions with 236. *He has totaled more receptions than any other
Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...
receiver after two years. * He set the school record with 223 receiving yards against the Richmond Spiders in the Commodores' 2007 opening season win. *He is the first ever SEC receiver to record 75 receptions in three different seasons.


Statistics


Professional career


Chicago Bears


2008 season

The
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
chose Bennett in the third round (70th overall) of the
2008 NFL draft The 2008 NFL draft was the 73rd NFL draft, annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York (state), New York ...
. He didn't catch a single pass his entire rookie year and was mostly on the sidelines.


2009 season

On April 2, 2009, Bennett's former teammate at Vanderbilt during the 2005 season, Pro Bowl quarterback
Jay Cutler Jay Christopher Cutler (born April 29, 1983) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. A member of the Chicago Bears for most of his career, he is ...
was acquired by the Bears via a trade with the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
. Bears head coach
Lovie Smith Lovie Lee Smith (born May 8, 1958) is an American football coach. He has served as the head coach of the Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL) and the Illinois Fighting Illini. Smith has be ...
said Bennett would be given "every opportunity" to win a spot as a starting receiver alongside Devin Hester in 2009. Bennett did just that during the course of mandatory mini-camp and training camp, as he showed an ability to make tough grabs in traffic and a willingness to go over the middle. Bennett and Cutler quickly regained the chemistry they shared on and off the field during their college years playing together at Vanderbilt. During that offseason, Bennett also changed his number from 85 to 80. (He tried to obtain his original college number 10, but since NFL rules prohibit players from changing numbers in the 80s to numbers in the 10s, he settled for 80 as it reminded him of Jerry Rice.) Bennett was the only Bears receiver to catch at least 1 pass in each game played during the 16-Game regular season in which the Bears missed the playoffs. Bennett got off to a strong start in season in the Week 1 match-up against the Green Bay Packers, making seven catches for 66 yards. Two weeks later against the Seattle Seahawks, Bennett caught four passes for 80 yards. A week later against the Detroit Lions, Bennett returned four punts for a 15-yard average and a long of 25 yards in place of an injured Devin Hester. During Week 6 against the Atlanta Falcons, Bennett caught four passes for 57 yards, including a clutch grab in the red zone in which Bennett took a big hit to still give Chicago a chance to win but eventually lost that game. In Week 9 against the Arizona Cardinals, Bennett caught seven passes for 93 yards, but the Bears lost 41–21. In Week 16 against the division rival Minnesota Vikings, Bennett caught three passes for 35 yards, along with his second career receiving touchdown. Bennett had a key two-point conversion against the Seattle Seahawks for his first points of the 2009 season and his career. Bennett caught his first career touchdown from Jay Cutler against the St. Louis Rams in Week 13 as well completing a career-long 71-yard pass reception. On December 20 against the
Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...
, Bennett returned a punt 49 yards for a touchdown in place of the Bears injured returner Devin Hester. Bennett finished the season with 717 yards on 54 catches with two receiving touchdowns and a punt return touchdown as well.


2010 season

During Week 6 against the Seahawks, Bennett laid a devastating block on Seattle punter
Jon Ryan Jonathan Robert Ryan (born November 26, 1981) is a Canadian former professional football player who was a punter in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played university football for the Regina Rams, an ...
, allowing teammate Devin Hester to return his second punt of the season for a touchdown. Bennett caught his third career receiving touchdown in Week 9 against the Buffalo Bills in Toronto. During the
NFC Championship The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semifinal playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...
game, with Chicago trailing 21–7,
Caleb Hanie Caleb Jeffrey Hanie (born September 11, 1985) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback. He played college football at Colorado State Rams football, Colorado State and was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undraf ...
, who was playing for an injured
Jay Cutler Jay Christopher Cutler (born April 29, 1983) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. A member of the Chicago Bears for most of his career, he is ...
, lofted a pass toward the left sideline to Bennett, who made
Nick Collins Nicholas Cordell Collins (born August 16, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for seven seasons with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Bethune ...
whiff on the tackle and then raced untouched into the endzone for a 35-yard touchdown, but Green Bay still won the game 21–14.


2011 season

In Week 2 against the Saints, Bennett was injured, and did not return to the game. This eventually created controversy in 2012 after the Saints were caught using a bounty program. In Week 9, Bennett's return helped the Bears defeat the Eagles with a touchdown pass. However, after the Eagles game, Bennett was fined $5,000 for wearing bright orange cleats. After he wore the shoes again against the
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
the following week, the league told him that wearing the shoes again will result in an increase of $5,000 in his fines. The league later informed him that wearing the cleats a third consecutive time will result in him being ejected and the Bears being penalized. After wearing the cleats in 2012 against the Lions, the league fined him once again. On December 12, Bennett was signed to a four-year extension, keeping him with the Bears through 2014.


2012 season

In Week 17 against the Lions, Bennett caught five passes for 109 yards, a career best, and one touchdown. As a result, Bennett became the first Bears receiver besides
Brandon Marshall Brandon Tyrone Marshall (born March 23, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCF Knights, and was selected by ...
to compile more than 80 yards in a game in 2012.


2013 season

In 2013, Bennett caught 32 passes for 243 yards and a career-high four touchdowns. Bennett missed the 2013 week 17 game against the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
after his brother's death. On March 18, 2014, Bennett was released by the Bears after refusing to have his salary reduced.


Cleveland Browns

On May 14, 2014, Bennett signed with the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
. On June 17, 2014, his contract was terminated by the Browns.


Post-playing career

Bennett was named the director of player development at his alma mater Vanderbilt on February 8, 2021.


Personal life

In 2012, Bennett held "The Prime Experience with Earl Bennett" at III Forks to help benefit his charity, "Earl Bennett's Legends for Literacy". Bennett was among the honorees at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers at a CSN fundraiser event. In January 2015, Bennett returned to Vanderbilt University to complete his educational studies degree from Peabody College of Education and Human Development. Bennett earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the
University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...
in 2022. Earl is married to Rekeshia Bennett. They have a son, Earl Bennett Jr. and daughters, Skylah and Selah Bennett.


References


External links


Cleveland Browns bio

Chicago Bears bio


{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Earl 1987 births Living people Players of American football from Birmingham, Alabama American football wide receivers Vanderbilt Commodores football players Chicago Bears players Cleveland Browns players University of Houston alumni Vanderbilt Commodores football coaches