Panthers trade WR Kelvin Benjamin to Bills

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After 40 games with the Carolina Panthers, wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin will be headed elsewhere. The Panthers decided to part ways with Benjamin before the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday by sending him to the Buffalo Bills.

According to ESPN, the Bills have sent two draft picks to the Panthers in exchange for the talented wide receiver.

The Carolina Panthers have traded top wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin to the Buffalo Bills for a third- and a seventh-round pick in the 2018 draft.

Here’s what it took and how the trade was pieced together, via ESPN.

The third-rounder is the Bills’ pick, not the one the franchise acquired from the Philadelphia Eagles in a separate deal. The 2018 seventh-round pick was acquired in a July trade with the Los Angeles Chargers for quarterback Cardale Jones.

This trade is an interesting one for the Panthers as Benjamin was thought to be a vital piece to the offensive puzzle for Cam Newton and company. The team has had it’s fair share of struggles offensively making this trade that much more perplexing, but Benjamin has had his injury issues over the last few years potentially convincing the Panthers brass of his expendability.

With Benjamin now in Buffalo, the distinction as the number one wide receiver in Carolina goes to Devin Funchess.

Benjamin played in all eight games for the Panthers this season catching 32 passes for a team-high 475 yards and two touchdowns. The arrival of Benjamin in Buffalo will make a good team that much better offensively as the Bills look like a real threat to the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots in the AFC East with a 5-2 record.