In Week 4, Bene Benwikere took a lot of criticism in the Carolina Panthers 48-33 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Wide receiver Julio Jones caught 12 passes for 300 yards and a touchdown, mostly against Benwikere. Also, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan threw for 503 yards and four touchdowns against the Panthers defense.
In a bit of a surprising move late last week, the Panthers released Benwikere just days before their Monday night game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Because the transaction was done so late in the week, Benwikere couldn’t sign with a team until after the Week 5 games were played.
Benwikere said the Dolphins told him they’re not worrying about what happened with the Panthers.
“The Atlanta game was the Atlanta game,” Benwikere said. “Kind of when I came in, the first thing they talked to me was a clean slate. It doesn’t matter where you came from; we don’t really care, put that performance behind me and I’m ready to get to work here.”
With the issues the Miami Dolphins are having in their secondary at the moment, they decided to put in a bid for Benwikere off of waivers and were awarded the 25-year-old. Miami had room to add Benwikere once they placed linebacker Koa Misi on injured reserve with a neck injury.
Miami starting cornerback Xavien Howard underwent knee surgery last week and is out indefinitely. Byron Maxwell, who the team acquired from the Phildelhephia Eagles, has struggled this season and was even benched prior to the Dolphins game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Benwikere opening admitted to some conditioning issues before being released by the Panthers. In his first media availability with the Dolphins, Benwikere said his comments about his conditioning might have been a bit overblown.
“I would definitely say conditioning was a factor in the last game seeing how I split time in that game, things happened, so they (Panthers) needed me to play more often,” Benwikere said. “I wouldn’t say my conditioning is bad, but to be a great caliber player, you need to have that extra edge. It is a new beginning and a new mindset and to be in top shape and not let anyone run past me as much as possible.”
Benwikere was a fifth-round pick of the Panthers in 2014 out of San Jose State. In his first two seasons with the Panthers, Benwikere mainly played the starting slot nickel position.
In 2014, Benwikere played in 10 games for Carolina as he finished with 33 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble on seven pass defenses. Last season for the Panthers, Benwikere played in 13 games, making 59 tackles, one sack and no interceptions.
Benwikere said he is comfortable playing either as an outside corner or in the slot, but he does have a preference.
“I would enjoy to be outside more often than not, Benwikere said. “A lot of people that watch the game say I look more comfortable in the slot. Right now I’m trying to let the chips fall where they may. Where ever they really need me, that’s what I am planning on doing.”
Twitter: @antwanstaley
