Kelvin

Benjamin

It was a quick stay for Benjamin, a former receiver for the Panthers and Bills who converted to tight end last year. Benjamin, 30, could land on another roster this summer. His chances of making a team’s 53-man roster are slim.

Out of the league since 2018, Benjamin worked mostly at tight end during his minicamp tryout. It’s a low risk flyer for the Giants, who have Evan Engram and Kyle Rudolph locked in two TE sets. A first-round pick by GM Dave Gettleman with the Panthers in 2014, Benjamin faded into a sub-package role with Kansas City before falling out of the league. The Giants are hoping Benjamin can give them a pass-catching backup for Engram, who’s missed 14 games over the last four seasons.

Benjamin, who hasn’t appeared in a regular season game since 2018, reported to New York’s minicamp listed at 6'5/245 as a tight end. Originally drafted by GM Dave Gettleman in Carolina, 30-year-old Benjamin is being treated as the one that got away. We’ll follow this ongoing situation so you don’t have to.

Now on the wrong side of 30, Benjamin has not appeared in a regular season game since 2018. Benjamin was drafted by Giants GM Dave Gettleman in Carolina, and Gettleman evidently can’t let the matter go. Even if 6-foot-5 Benjamin makes a miraculous comeback, there would be no targets for the taking in the Giants’ stuffed-to-the-gills receiver corps.

He’s among several wideouts the Giants are working out Saturday. Already down Sterling Shepard, who broke his thumb during Thursday’s practice session, the G-Men were dealt another blow Friday when Corey Coleman went down with a torn ACL. A 2014 first-rounder, Benjamin has heard crickets this offseason following an underwhelming 2018 season that included just 25 catches for 380 yards and one touchdown over 15 games for Buffalo and Kansas City. If he lands with New York, it would be his fourth team in three seasons.

Benjamin had one catch in his Chiefs debut last week. He remained a non-factor, with his only notable play an end-zone drop. Benjamin isn’t higher than the No. 4 option for Kansas City.

Benjamin stood like a statue on the right sideline for his first Chiefs reception. His job down the stretch will be to be a big body for a Chiefs offense that is getting tripped up a bit by injury and the loss of Kareem Hunt. Even if Sammy Watkins remains sidelined, Benjamin will not make fantasy noise in Weeks 16 and 17.

Benjamin has only been in the building for one week and the Chiefs haven’t guaranteed that Benjamin will be active on Thursday. If he does suit up, beat reporters don’t expect Benjamin to be used as a starting receiver despite Sammy Watkins (foot) being week to week. Even with Patrick Mahomes leading one of the best offenses in the league, Benjamin will be no more than a low-floor WR5 if he ends up being active in Week 15.

With such a short turnaround, Benjamin won’t be active against the Ravens this week. Chris Conley will continue being used as the team’s default second wideout, as he has on 91.5% of snaps the past three games in place of Watkins. Conley’s only seen a 16% target share in that stint. Look for Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce to continue being leaned on against Baltimore’s top-ranked pass defense.

It’s a one-year contract, so Benjamin will be a free agent in March, but this is one of the best landing spots for Benjamin, who was waived by the Bills two days ago. Benjamin could see significant snaps in the playoffs as the Chiefs No. 3 receiver behind Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins, if Benjamin is able to pick up the offense quickly. Benjamin’s signing is bad news for Chris Conley, but Benjamin is only worth a pickup in deep leagues as a bench stash.