Former Longhorns, Bears, Bengals player Cedric Benson dead at 36

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Cedric Benson, a former University of Texas Longhorns running back and NFL player, has died, according to reports.

The Austin American-Statesman reported that family and friends confirmed his death in a motorcycle-and-car accident overnight.

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Emergency officials told the publication they are investigating the crash, which happened after 10 p.m. Saturday. Benson and an unidentified female passenger were killed, according to Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services officials. Two other adults were injured.

TMZ Sports reported that Benson posted his BMW motorcycle on his Instagram story hours before the accident. He captioned the post, "My Saturday evening."

Benson was selected fourth overall by the Chicago Bears in the 2005 NFL draft as a star player for the Longhorns. He later played with the Cincinnati Bengals and the Green Bay Packers, according to Yahoo! Sports.

The Bengals issued the following statement on Benson's death:

"The Cincinnati Bengals today join football fans across the country in mourning the loss of Cedric Benson," the team said in a statement.

"Cedric was a fine football player for us. He played a principal role for several years here, including a couple of playoff runs," Bengals president Mike Brown said in a statement. "He was from Texas, and he showed his Texas toughness in leading us to a Division Championship in just his second season with us. His three consecutive 1000-yard seasons displayed the talent he possessed. Our organization is deeply saddened by his sudden and tragic passing. The Bengals extend our deepest condolences to Cedric's family"

"Once he bought into our system, he was like a flower. He just blossomed," Former Bengals running backs coach Jim Anderson said. "He gave us an element we didn't have. We had complementary guys, but Cedric gave us a missing element. He was a good man. He was one of my guys and it hurts. Life is too short."

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