NFL ROUNDUP \ News and notes

Bengals: Running back Cedric Benson signed with the Bengals, who needed another runner and were undeterred by two alcohol-related arrests in Texas that prompted the Chicago Bears to let him go. Benson will take the spot of running back DeDe Dorsey, who was placed on injured reserve Tuesday after hurting his hamstring in a 20-12 loss to Cleveland. Chris Perry is Cincinnati’s starting running back. Benson was Chicago’s first-round pick in the 2005 draft out of Texas. He started 12 games for the Bears from 2005-07, running for 1,593 yards and 10 touchdowns. He missed five games with an ankle injury last season, but had a career-high 674 yards. Benson was arrested in May on charges of boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest, and again in June on a drunken driving charge in Austin, Texas. Two grand juries in Travis County, Texas, declined to indict Benson on the charges last week, ending the cases.

Dolphins: Ricky Williams says he was briefly tempted to smoke marijuana during Miami’s bye weekend, an act that could have ended his roller-coaster NFL career. Williams has been in the league’s substance-abuse program since 2002 and has tested positive for marijuana. Williams told The Miami Herald for Tuesday’s editions that when players were given Friday off, “automatically your mind, which is so constrained since training camp began ... says, ‘I’m free, what can I do?’ So there was definitely an urge. But I just thought about what I have to lose, and it was easy. The urge didn’t last very long.” Since 2004, the Dolphins running back has played only 16 NFL games, including three this year. If Williams were to smoke marijuana again, he would likely be out of the NFL for good because he has already violated the league drug policy four times.

Bills: Buffalo shuffled fullbacks Tuesday by signing Corey McIntyre and releasing Darian Barnes. McIntyre, an unsigned free agent with three years of NFL experience, spent last season with Atlanta before his September release. He also played with Cleveland and New Orleans, and is regarded as a capable blocker and special teams player. The moves come as the undefeated Bills (4-0) prepare to play at Arizona (2-2) Sunday, Buffalo’s final game before its bye week. Barnes’ release comes after he sprained his right foot in Buffalo’s 24-23 win over Oakland on Sept. 21 and missed last weekend’s game at St. Louis. The lone fullback on the Bills’ roster, Barnes is a seven-year NFL veteran who was in his first season with Buffalo. He had two catches for 34 yards this season and was used as a lead blocker for running backs Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson. The Bills have reintroduced the fullback position in their offense this season under first-year coordinator Turk Schonert.

Texans: Houston Texans placed safety C.C. Brown on injured reserve and signed fullback Cecil Sapp Tuesday. Brown broke his arm against Jacksonville Sunday and had surgery Monday. Sapp spent five seasons with the Broncos and scored two touchdowns in 2007. Also, Houston signed linebacker Kevis Coley to the practice squad and released tight end Clark Harris.

Titans: A preliminary hearing on a drunken-driving charge for defensive end Jevon Kearse has been continued until Jan. 6. The hearing had been scheduled for Tuesday, but Kearse’s attorney Roger May said neither he nor the district attorney general’s office had seen video of the June 22 arrest. Kearse was arrested by Vanderbilt University police and charged with driving under the influence and refusing a breath test.

Mandarich admits steroid use: Former NFL draft bust Tony Mandarich says he used steroids at Michigan State and faked a drug test before the 1988 Rose Bowl. He also said during an interview on “Inside the NFL” that will air tonight on Showtime that he did not use steroids in the NFL but was addicted to alcohol and painkillers.

Associated Press