Buffalo Bills wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin spent his first two and a half NFL seasons with the Carolina Panthers, before being traded to Buffalo on Halloween 2017.
And we may now have a better idea of why the Panthers wanted to part ways with Benjamin. Or, we at least now know he was certainly fine with the trade.
In an interview with Tim Graham of The Athletic on Saturday, Benjamin was asked how he’d assess his career to this point. Particularly his career after his rookie 2014 season.
“The last play of your college career, you caught a touchdown to win the national title for Florida State with 13 seconds left. Then you set rookie receiving records for Carolina. Things turned in 2015. How would you assess your career since your rookie season?”
Benjamin had a very honest answer for why he had struggles- Cam Newton.
“If you would’ve put me with any other quarterback, let’s be real, you know what I’m saying? Any other accurate quarterback like Rodgers or Eli Manning or Big Ben — anybody! — quarterbacks with knowledge, that know how to place a ball and give you a better chance to catch the ball.”
“I mean, I felt like I would’ve been even more successful if … I don’t know, man … If I would’ve … Looking back on it, I should’ve just been drafted by somebody else. I should’ve never went to Carolina. Truly, I just think Carolina was bad for me. It was a bad fit from the get-go. If you would’ve put me with any other quarterback, let’s be real, you know what I’m saying? Any other accurate quarterback like Rodgers or Eli Manning or Big Ben — anybody! — quarterbacks with knowledge, that know how to place a ball and give you a better chance to catch the ball. It just felt like I wasn’t in that position.”
Hoo boy.
And this appears to be Cam responding:
Cam Newton’s IG story seemingly addresses Kelvin Benjamin’s remarks to the Athletic:
“I ain’t gonna go back and forth with him, I’m just gonna work…” pic.twitter.com/v4BteGHsqi
— Matt Harris (@Matt____Harris) August 4, 2018
Benjamin had 73 receptions for 1,008 yards, and nine touchdowns as a rookie out of Florida State in 2014, before seeing his production drop. However, he was more productive in his eight games with the Panthers in 2017 (32 receptions, 475 yards, two touchdowns) than his six games with Buffalo (16 receptions, 217 yards, two touchdowns).
Benjamin may not be a fan of Newton, but he’s probably in for a surprise if he thinks Josh Allen, Nathan Peterman and A.J. McCarron will do a better job getting him the ball.
