JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Life never goes according to the plan we have in our minds. That's one way to describe the NFL career of Jaguars wide-receiver Arrelious Benn. After being selected in the second-round of the 2010 draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Benn thought he'd be an entrenched NFL starter by now.
Following an ACL tear and a back injury, it's been two years since Benn played in an NFL game. Now, 26, Benn finds himself competing just to make this Jaguars team. Much wiser than his age would suggest, the former University of Illinois product says his setbacks have been a blessing in disguise.
"I started making my transition when I got traded my last year in Tampa to Philadelphia," said Benn. "I was supposed to be starting and this, that, and the other, but I tore my ACL and then the next year I came back had a great time and then I hurt my back. Injuries have set my career back, but that's just adversity; it's all about how you bounce back from it. I'm actually thankful for it, for having the adversities, because they've helped me out in my life, on and off the field."
Allen Robinson, Allen Hurns, and Marqise Lee are all locks to make the Jaguars roster at wide receiver. At 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, Benn possess a physicality component that adds a different element to the receiving corps.
"Yeah, just his size and his strength and some of the things that we ask," said Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley. "With our offense we'll probably see a lot of eight man fronts which means there's going to be a down safety which means receivers are going to have to be heavily involved in blocking for the run; cracking and things like that, so to have that body type would be advantageous for us if that should work out."
If Benn is to make this Jaguars team, it will be due to his contributions on special teams more so than his role on the offense. With Lee still nursing a hamstring injury, Benn has been getting more repetitions with the offense. After all he's been through, Benn doesn't take any moment on the field for granted.
"It's definitely important," said Benn. "If I was a league minimum guy to the guy with the biggest contract, it's definitely important. Like I said, you've never got it, nobody is ever safe, that's just the nature of our business and you've got to take every rep, every opportunity, you've got to go full speed. That's one thing I always pride myself on, if I get hurt going full speed, I can live with that. If I get hurt not doing what I'm supposed to do, I couldn't live with that."