Earl Bennett Says Devin Aromashodu Saved His Bears Career

Most people these days remember Earl Bennett as one of the best wide receiver draft picks the Chicago Bears have made in recent history. He was never a star, but he had some nice moments from 2009 to 2011. However, he took to Twitter recently to tell the story of how he came extraordinarily close to losing his job after his rookie season.

Before a game against the Ravens in 2009, he felt pain in his left knee. He had a punt return touchdown in the game, but afterwards the doctors discovered a microfracture that would require surgery after the season. If that weren’t bad enough, his future on the roster was made even more tenuous when offensive coordinator Ron Turner was fired.

His replacement, Mike Martz, didn’t take long to declare that he wasn’t impressed with what Bennett was showing him.

Fast forward to June. It’s all most the end of OTAs and I practice the last two weeks. New offensive coordinator calls me to his office. The OC tells me that I am running slow and am last on the depth chart due to time missed from a knee procedure. #StoryTimeWithEarl

— Earl B. Bennett (@EarlBBennett) April 26, 2019

Things were only made worse when Bennett suffered a minor hamstring tear during an awkward fall trying to make a catch in training camp. He wouldn’t see the field again the rest of the summer. Under normal circumstances, he could’ve been cut.

Earl Bennett survived though but needed a miracle to play

Though he admitted somebody in the front office had his back, allowing him to escape the final cuts, his odds of ever seeing the field seemed remote. He was at the bottom of the depth chart when the Bears played their opener against the Detroit Lions.

However, it seems his good luck hadn’t quite run out yet.

However, they kept me on the roster. The first game against the Lions, the then #3 WR drops 2 touchdown passes. Fortunately, the Lions receiver did not possess the catch and we won. Walking off the field the OC screams at me YOU BETTER HAVE YOUR A$$ ready #StoryTimeWithEarl

— Earl B. Bennett (@EarlBBennett) April 26, 2019

The #3 wide receiver he’s referring to is Devin Aromashodu. Fans will remember him best for his huge game against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football in 2009. However, this game would prove to be his undoing as a critical series of drops almost cost the Bears the game.

Thankfully they were saved by the controversial Calvin Johnson failure to “complete the process” of his apparent game-winning TD in the final seconds. Aromashodu was targeted 10 times in that game. He would be targeted just 14 times the rest of the season.

Bennett would end up with 561 yards and three touchdowns that year, helping the Bears reach the NFC championship.