Cedric Benson, who underwent surgery Thursday to repair the fractured leg, could miss out on nearly $4 million in bonuses and escalators in his contract. Had he been more productive earlier in the season, or had he been injured a week later, he likely would have earned a sizable windfall. But by finishing the season with 674 rushing yards, Benson fell 27 shy of triggering a conditional roster bonus worth $1.73 million. While some already have labeled the No. 4 overall pick in 2005 a bust, the king's ransom he has received has been exaggerated. Even if he returns healthy in 2008 and jump-starts a career that looked to be stalling before he was hurt, Benson never will approach the $29.96 million maximum value of his five-year rookie contract. Through this season, Benson will have pocketed almost $13.8 million, a fortune of McCaskey dollars for 1,593 career rushing yards and 10 touchdowns but far less than the amounts that have been published.

Chicago Bears' running back Cedric Benson will miss the remainder of the season with an injury to his lower left leg that will require surgery. "A tough break," Bears' Coach Lovie Smith said Monday. "We'll miss him." Smith would not disclose what Benson's injury was, only to say it was season-ending and needed surgery.

Chicago Bears' running back Cedric Benson hurt his left ankle at the end of a 21-yard run early in the second quarter of Sunday's game against the Denver Broncos and had to leave the field on a cart. He did not return. Coach Lovie Smith said after the game Benson had an ankle injury but did not elaborate on his condition. Benson carried eight times for 47 yards. "Whenever you don't finish the game, of course, that's not good," Smith said. "He has a pretty good ankle injury." Benson, who took over this season as the Bears' starting tailback after the trade of Thomas Jones, broke free for the long run but was hurt as he landed while being tackled by Denver safety Hamza Abdullah. Benson lost the ball on the play, but officials ruled he was already down before it came loose.

Tommie Harris' troubling left knee likely will require arthroscopic surgery in the offseason, a source close to the Pro Bowl defensive tackle told the Sun-Times. Harris nodded when asked about the situation after the Bears' 30-23 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, when he was the last player to dress in the locker room after time in the training room. Harris was forced to sit out all practices last week in preparation for the game, and though he started, he played sparingly and was credited in press-box statistics with one tackle and one hit on Seahawks' quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. In last year's regular-season meeting at Soldier Field, Harris owned Seattle guard Chris Gray in a dazzling display that garnered him NFC defensive player of the week honors. This time around, the Bears were so concerned about his status that they placed wide receiver Mark Bradley on the inactive list to make room for extra interior lineman Antonio Garay.

Quarterback Rex Grossman, who led the Chicago Bears to the Super Bowl in 2006 but then lost his job after the first three games of this season, will return to the lineup for Sunday's road game against the Seattle Seahawks. Sources close to Grossman confirmed that he will supplant Brian Griese in the lineup. Griese had started six games since replacing Grossman but suffered a sprained shoulder in last week's game against the Oakland Raiders. Grossman led the Bears to a 17-6 comeback victory in that game, completing 7-of-14 passes for 142 yards, with one touchdown pass and no interceptions.

Rex Grossman came off the bench and rescued the Chicago Bears with a go-ahead touchdown pass, but that doesn't mean he's retained his starting spot. Coach Lovie Smith said Monday that Brian Griese sprained his left shoulder Sunday in Oakland and needs medical clearance before he can play. "It's unclear who will start Sunday," Smith said the day after a 17-6 win at Oakland gave the Bears a 4-5 record headed into this week's game at Seattle. Grossman, benched in favor of Griese after three games because he had six interceptions and one TD pass, hit Bernard Berrian with a 59-yard pass for the go-ahead score with 3:11 to go Sunday against the Raiders.

Raiders' head coach wants to kick the ball this weekend to Devin Hester -- kickoffs, punts, the whole 109 yards. "It's no fun to kick it out of bounds, so we're going to see how well we can cover," said Kiffin. "We're excited about the challenge. You know, we've started to play better on special teams the last few weeks. It's obvious he's probably the best returner ever to play the game."

With each practice, it appears more likely Bears' cornerback Nate Vasher will miss another game or more. At least this week, the Bears face an Oakland Raiders offense less likely to take advantage of his absence than some others the Bears have played. Vasher, who hasn't played since Sept. 23, missed Thursday's practice and said he hasn't yet begun to run full speed or backwards in rehabbing a partially torn groin muscle. Coach Lovie Smith called Vasher's appearance in Sunday's game "unlikely." "It's more or less about how productive I can be out there on the field," Vasher said. "I don't want to do anything to put our team in jeopardy by the way I'm playing. I want to make sure I'm a hundred percent out there."

Pro Football Weekly reports that the Chicago Bears might have trade interest in Buffalo Bills' quarterback J.P. Losman after this season.