Bears put Benson on injured reserve

The Chicago Bears placed Cedric Benson on injured reserve Tuesday, one day after announcing the running back injured his left ankle and needed season-ending surgery.

The team also signed offensive lineman Ryan Gibbons to the practice squad and terminated the practice-squad contract of safety Brandon Sharp.

Benson, who took over this season as the Bears' starter after Thomas Jones was traded to the Jets, was injured in the second quarter of Sunday's game against the Denver Broncos and had to be carted off the field.

Benson gained 47 yards on eight carries before he was hurt. He rushed for 674 yards this season on 196 carries, an average of 3.4 yards per carry, and had four touchdowns.

Gibbons entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Northeastern in 2006 with the Jacksonville Jaguars and had been on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' practice squad. He was allocated to NFL Europa last offseason.

Sharp signed with the practice squad last week. He entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with Tennessee in 2007 and played college ball at Louisville.