The Carolina Panthers have traded wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin to the Buffalo Bills for a third and seventh round draft pick, exchanging a player that the team drafted 28th overall in 2014 for two future draft picks. Benjamin, who was leading the team in receiving yards with 475 in 2017 and had amassed 2,424 yards in his three seasons of play in Carolina, is coming off a game in Tampa Bay in which he showed his size to box out and leap for a touchdown grab over the shorter and smaller safety, Justin Evans.
The 6’5″ Benjamin tore his ACL during the 2015 training camp after breaking onto the scene with 73 receptions for 1,008 yards in his rookie season. Without Benjamin in the lineup, the Panthers were able to go 15-1 and reach the Super Bowl, but the team has struggled in the passing game this season thus far. With Pro Bowl tight end Greg Olsen missing since he broke his foot in Week 2, Benjamin has been in on almost 70% of the snaps this season and has 51 targets on the season.
Quarterback Cam Newton in particular was a big fan of Benjamin, saying after the game on Sunday that the 26-year-old was an “unbelievable” teammate. “He comes to work each and every day” Newton said. “He may not be the most talkative person all the time, but I guarantee you, when you want people in your foxhole, Kelvin Benjamin is the person that you want.”
Without Benjamin, the Panthers have four healthy wide receivers on the current roster: third-year-pro Devin Funchess, who leads the team in both receptions by a wideout and receiving touchdowns and is similar in height and weight to Benjamin; Russell Shepard, a free agent who was signed in the offseason from Tampa Bay and has developed a rapport with Cam Newton but has only been targeted 18 times in 8 games; rookie Curtis Samuel, who has struggled to get involved in the passing game; and Kaelin Clay, who made waves in the preseason and training camp before being traded to Buffalo ahead of Week 1 and resigning with Carolina before last week.
The Panthers are 5-3 and face division rival Atlanta Falcons this Sunday.
