The Buccaneers acquired another one of their top picks with the signing of wide receiver Arrelious Benn. Tampa Bay selected Benn with their second pick in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft. Benn signed a four-year deal with a $2.1 million signing bonus, according to multiple reports.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have another member of their 2010 rookie class under contract with the addition of Arrelious Benn. Benn signed a four-year contract with a $2.1 million signing bonus, according to multiple reports. The Bucs selected the Illinois wide receiver with their second pick in the second round (39th overall) after they traded up with the Oakland Raiders to land his services.
With the wide receiver position in need of a serious overhaul, Benn was the first of two receivers that the Buccaneers selected in the draft. The other being Syracuse’s Mike Williams, who the Bucs selected in the fourth round and inked to a four-year deal in June. In addition to those two rookies, the Bucs also acquired receiver Reggie Brown via trade from the Philadelphia Eagles earlier in the offseason. The team is hoping that those three additions, along with holdovers Maurice Stovall and Sammie Stroughter, will give second-year quarterback Josh Freeman some much needed firepower to work with.
Benn, 6-foot-1, 219 pounds, has a great combination of size and speed and is in competition for the flanker (Z receiver) position. Despite battling an ankle injury, Benn had a nice offseason during the OTAs (organized team activities) and mini-camps. Benn figures to see more reps when the pads come on during training camp, which starts July 31 at One Buccaneer Place.
In his three years at Illinois, Benn caught 159 passes for 2,221 yards (14 yards per catch) and seven touchdowns. For the Fighting Illini, Benn was one of their most dynamic weapons so they got him the ball in a variety of ways outside of wide receiver. Benn ran the ball 62 times for 282 yards (4.5 yard average) and three touchdowns out of the Illinois spread offense.
He returned 42 kickoffs for 996 yards (23.7 yard average) and one touchdown. On punt returns Benn had 114 yards on 15 returns (7.6 yard average). His best season was his sophomore year when he caught 67 passes for 1,055 yards (15.7 yard average) and three touchdowns. Last season, Benn was hampered by injuries and poor quarterback play. He caught 38 passes for 490 yards and two touchdowns.
The Buccaneers now have seven of their nine draft picks under contract. The remaining two players yet to be signed are first-round pick Gerald McCoy and seventh-round pick Cody Grimm.
No comments:
Post a Comment