Earl Bennett Earl Bennett ( born March 23 , 1987 ) is an American football wide receiver for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Bears in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft . He played college football at Vanderbilt . College career . A three - time All - SEC selection at Vanderbilt , Bennett left school as the all - time SEC leader in receptions with 236 . Professional career . Chicago Bears . The Chicago Bears chose Bennett in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft . He didn ' t catch a single pass his entire rookie year and was mostly on the sidelines . 2009 season . On April 2 , 2009 , Bennett ' s former teammate at Vanderbilt during the 2005 season , Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler was acquired by the Bears via a trade with the Denver Broncos . Bears head coach Lovie Smith said Bennett would be given " every opportunity " to win a spot as a starting receiver alongside Devin Hester in 2009 . Bennett did just that during the course of mandatory mini - camp and training camp , as he showed an ability to make tough grabs in traffic and a willingness to go over the middle . He is currently the No . 2 Receiver on the depth chart and has become a favorite target for Cutler , as the duo quickly regained the chemistry they shared on the field and off during their college years playing together at Vanderbilt . During that offseason , Earl also changed his number from 85 to 80 . ( He tried to obtain his original college number 10 , but since NFL rules prohibit players from changing numbers in the 80s to numbers in the 10s , he settled for 80 as it reminded him of Jerry Rice . ) Earl was the only Bears receiver to catch at least 1 pass in each game played during the 17 - Game regular season in which the Bears missed the playoffs . Bennett got off to a strong start in season in the Week 1 match - up against the Green Bay Packers , making seven catches for 66 yards . Two weeks later against the Seattle Seahawks , Bennett caught four passes for 80 yards . A week later against the Detroit Lions , Bennett returned four punts for a 15 yard average and a long of 25 yards in place of an injured Devin Hester . During Week 6 against the Atlanta Falcons , Bennett caught four passes for 57 yards , including a clutch grab in the red zone in which Bennett took a big hit to still give Chicago a chance to win but eventually lost that game . In Week 9 against the Arizona Cardinals , Bennett caught seven passes for 93 yards , but the Bears lost 41 – 21 . In Week 16 against the division rival Minnesota Vikings , Bennett caught three passes for 35 yards , along with his second career receiving touchdown . Bennett had a key two - point conversion against the Seattle Seahawks for his first points of the 2009 season and his career . Bennett caught his first career touchdown from Jay Cutler against the St . Louis Rams in Week 13 as well completing a career - long 71 - yard pass reception . On December 20 against the Baltimore Ravens , Bennett returned a punt 49 yards for a touchdown in place of the Bears injured returner Devin Hester . Earl Bennett finished the season with 717 yards on 54 catches with two receiving touchdowns and a punt return touchdown as well . 2010 season . During Week 6 against the Seahawks , Bennett laid a devastating block on Seattle punter Jon Ryan , allowing teammate Devin Hester to return his second punt of the season for a touchdown . Bennett caught his third career receiving touchdown in Week 9 against the Buffalo Bills in Toronto . During the NFC Championship game , with Chicago trailing 21 - 7 , Caleb Hanie , who was playing for an injured Jay Cutler , lofted a pass toward the left sideline to Bennett , who made Nick Collins whiff on the tackle and then raced untouched into the endzone for a 35 - yard touchdown , but Green Bay still won the game 21 - 14 . 2011 season . In Week 2 against the Saints , Bennett was injured , and did not return to the game . This eventually created controversy in 2012 after the Saints were caught using a bounty program . In Week 9 , Bennett ' s return helped the Bears defeat the Eagles with a touchdown pass . However , after the Eagles game , Bennett was fined $ 5 , 000 for wearing bright orange cleats . After he wore the shoes again against the Detroit Lions the following week , the league told him that wearing the shoes again will result in an increase of $ 5 , 000 in his fines . The league later informed him that wearing the cleats a third consecutive time will result in him being ejected and the Bears being penalized . After wearing the cleats in 2012 against the Lions , the league fined him once again . On December 12 , Bennett was signed to a 4 year extension , keeping him with the Bears through 2014 . 2012 season . In Week 17 against the Lions , Bennett caught five passes for 109 yards , a career best , and one touchdown . As a result , Bennett became the first Bears receiver besides Brandon Marshall to compile more than 80 yards in a game in 2012 . Personal life . In 2012 , Bennett held " The Prime Experience with Earl Bennett " at III Forks to help benefit his charity , " Earl Bennett ' s Legends for Literacy " . Bennett was among the honorees at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers at a CSN fundraiser event .