Carolina Panthers (thankfully) dealt Kelvin Benjamin one year ago
One year ago the Carolina Panthers made a surprising move at the trade deadline.
Carolina Panthers general manager Marty Hurney dealt the team’s leading wide receiver and former first-round pick, Kelvin Benjamin, just minutes before the trade deadline one year ago. Landing on Halloween, many Panthers fans thought they had been tricked but fast forward to 2018 and it’s obvious the result was definitely more of a treat.
In exchange from the Buffalo Bills, Carolina received both a third and seventh round pick in the NFL Draft and used the former to select Rashaan Gaulden, a safety out of Tennessee who has rotated in some defensively before missing last week with an injury.
He may not be the first-round talent that Benjamin appeared to be while catching 73 passes for over 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns as a rookie, but he has the potential to contribute well into the future and Benjamin’s play has declined considerably since tearing his ACL in training camp prior to the 2015 season.
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From the sidelines, Benjamin watched his Panthers teammates cruise to a 15-1 regular season record before a trip to the Super Bowl for only the second time in franchise history. Upon return his statistics fell slightly in 2016 but last season he was still the top option for quarterback Cam Newton at the wide receiver position before being surprisingly dealt.
Newton was the league MVP in his most recent season without Benjamin but it didn’t keep the former Panthers receiver from attempting to blame his shortcomings on the quarterback before a preseason game earlier in the year.
Benjamin caught four balls for 58 yards and a touchdown in the game against Carolina and it was arguably his best performance to date. Only in Week 7 did he surpass the total number of yards (71) accumulated and only once has he found the end zone during games that actually count (Week 2).
The move also opened the door for Devin Funchess to continue his evolution into a legitimate No. 1 weapon along with the development of speedy receivers Curtis Samuel, Damiere Byrd and rookie D.J. Moore – who likely would not have been the focus of Hurney in Round 1 with Benjamin still on the roster.
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Hurney took a chance and Benjamin could still rebound for some great seasons in the NFL but it definitely appears the Panthers got the sweet end of this trade deadline deal from one year ago.