Buffalo Bills gave up a third-round and seventh-round draft picks back in 2017 in order to acquire wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin from the Carolina Panthers. Now, they have decided to cut him outright.
Bills confirmed the decision to release Benjamin on Tuesday while also announcing that they are parting ways with WR Andre Holmes. Cornerback Denzel Rice and defensive end Mike Love, on the other side, have been assigned to the practice squad.
It is believed that the reason behind this decision is the Bills’ wish to give their younger players more playing time.
We’ve released WR Kelvin Benjamin and WR Andre Holmes.
CB Denzel Rice and DE Mike Love have been signed from the practice squad. #GoBills pic.twitter.com/u3RyrP7ZQz
— Buffalo Bills (@buffalobills) December 4, 2018
Kelvin Benjamin was in the final year of his rookie contract before getting released by the Bills, so if any team decides to claim him off waivers, they will owe him a remaining portion of his $8.5 million salary for 2018. If he remains a free agent, Buffalo will owe him the rest of the salary.
Although Benjamin supposed to be a long-term solution for the Buffalo Bills on the wide receiver position, the former first-round pick from 2014 never managed to get comfortable. During his time with the team, he played a total of 18 regular-season games and managed to catch only 39 passes for 571 yards and two touchdowns.
Andre Holmes also had a bad run with the Bills since joining in 2017 from Oakland Raiders. Holmes didn’t get much chance to play and ended his time in Buffalo with 25 catches for 277 yards and three touchdowns.
