Buffalo Bills wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin lashed out at his former team, the Carolina Panthers, and their quarterback, Cam Newton, in an interview with The Athletic this weekend. Benjamin expressed that the start of his career would have gone better if he wasn’t draft by the Panthers, adding he believes Newton is an inaccurate thrower. Newton responded, and now Benjamin’s head coach, Sean McDermott, has. as well. McDermott’s not happy about it. Related Bills WR Zay Jones makes training camp debut “You know, look, there’s a time and a place. I’m not saying specific to what comments were made, there’s a time and a place for things like that… and this was not one of them. We have a lot of respect for our opponents, number one, and everyone in the league. I’ve spoken with Kelvin and that’s not how I want us to handle things like that. We’ll move forward as a team and we’ve already done that,” McDermott said. McDermott’s displeasure is not surprising. Prior to signing on as Buffalo’s head coach, McDermott, like Benjamin, was with the Carolina organization. He spent six seasons as their defensive coordinator, making him familiar with Newton and the rest of the franchise. Additionally, the Bills host the Panthers on Thursday at New Era Field in their preseason opener. “That’s [playing Carolina Thursday] part of it, but the bigger part of it is… our focus needs to be on what we’re doing. And like I said, we respect what they do, every opponent, everyone in the league for that matter, but the bigger part is, our focus needs to be on us and training camp,” McDerott said. That could get awkward, but it doesn’t sound like Benjamin will be apologizing Thursday. However, it’s unlikely the Bills will reprimand Benjamin at all. Behind Benjamin, have a wideout group that Pro Football Focus named the worst in the NFL. Zay Jones is returning to practice on Sunday, but even Jones is an underwhelming prospect after a tough rookie season. Buffalo will hope depth players, such as Andre Holmes or Jeremy Kerley, will flash as a playmaker in 2018.<doc-sep>AP Bills wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin didn’t hold back any of his feelings about his time with the Panthers in a recent interview. Benjamin said his time in Carolina “was bad for me” and that he wished he had gone somewhere with quarterbacks that have “knowledge, that know how to place a ball and give you a better chance to catch the ball.” Cam Newton, the quarterback he did have in Carolina, responded by saying he’s “just gonna work” rather than go back and forth with his former teammate. Bills coach Sean McDermott, who was the Panthers defensive coordinator for most of Benjamin’s time with the team, would prefer Benjamin take the same approach. “There’s a time and a place — I’m not saying specific to what comments were made — there’s a time and place for things like that,” McDermott said, via ESPN.com. “This was not one of them. We have a lot of respect for our opponents, No. 1, and everyone in the league. I’ve spoken with Kelvin and that’s not how I want us to handle things like that. So we’ll move forward as a team and I’m hoping we’ve already done that.” McDermott said “our focus needs to be on what we’re doing.” The biggest thing on this week’s to-do list is the first preseason game, which comes on Thursday against none other than the Panthers.<doc-sep>Phelan Ebenhack/Associated Press Buffalo Bills wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin took a few shots at his former quarterback on the Carolina Panthers, Cam Newton, during an interview with Tim Graham of The Athletic Friday night. On Sunday, Bills head coach Sean McDermott addressed Benjamin's comments: In his interview with Graham, Benjamin didn't mince words when discussing how his career progressed during his time in Carolina: "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 [Aaron] Rodgers or Eli Manning or [Ben Roethlisberger]—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." Newton appears to have replied to those comments on his Instagram story Saturday (h/t sports anchor Matt Harris): Benjamin also called into question his role with the Panthers, telling Graham he enjoys working in the slot in Buffalo, while with the Panthers "all they wanted me to do was line up at the X and take guys away from the play." Video Play Button Videos you might like Finally, he said he "felt like I was on a team where they didn't believe in me no more" in Carolina. Benjamin had an excellent rookie season in 2014 when he accumulated 1,008 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. But a torn ACL cost him the entirety of the 2015 season, and Benjamin has never compiled 1,000 yards or more than seven touchdowns in a season since. Last October, the Panthers traded him to the Bills for a 2018 third- and seventh-round selection, hoping he could provide the team with the dangerous weapon it lacked on the outside. In his first six games with the team he offered mediocre results, catching 16 passes for 217 yards and a score. This season, the Bills will be hoping Benjamin, Zay Jones and Jeremy Kerley can provide the team with weapons on the outside, though on paper it doesn't appear to be a strong group. And it remains unclear who will be throwing them passes to begin the season. Rookie Josh Allen is a project, leaving AJ McCarron and Nathan Peterman to battle for the starting position, at least to start the season. Unlike Newton, neither of those players has ever appeared in a Pro Bowl, won an MVP award or been named a first-team All-Pro. In other words, many of the frustrations Benjamin harbored toward Newton may end up traveling with him to Buffalo.<doc-sep>
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin made waves recently with his stinging comments about his former team, the Carolina Panthers, and quarterback Cam Newton. And his current head coach isn’t happy about it. “There’s a time and a place — I’m not saying specific to what comments were made — there’s a time and place for things like that,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said Sunday, per Mike Rodak of ESPN. “This was not one of them. We have a lot of respect for our opponents, No. 1, and everyone in the league. I’ve spoken with Kelvin and that’s not how I want us to handle things like that. So we’ll move forward as a team and I’m hoping we’ve already done that.” In an interview with The Athletic, Benjamin voiced his frustration that he was not a good fit in Carolina. He also took shots at Newton’s accuracy and believed it was a factor in holding back his production. Benjamin, who was the Panthers’ first-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, had 184 catches for 2,641 yards and 19 touchdowns in 40 games over four seasons with Carolina. He was traded to the Bills midway through last season. Apart from the disrespectful nature of Benjamin’s comments, McDermott likely took issue with his wideout’s criticism of the Panthers since he too came from Carolina. He spent six seasons as the Panthers’ defensive coordinator before moving on in 2017, so he still has close ties to the franchise. McDermott and Benjamin will now be reunited with their former team when they host the Panthers for their preseason opener on Thursday night, which should be an interesting contest in light of the current situation.