The Bills and Panthers stunned everyone with a buzzer-beating deal to send Kelvin Benjamin up north. Here’s another surprise: the Panthers did not discuss a potential Benjamin deal with anyone besides Buffalo, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). 
One would imagine that multiple teams had interest in acquiring a young WR1 like Benjamin. Then again, the Panthers weren’t exactly shopping him hard in the days leading up to the deadline. Before Tuesday at 4pm/3pm CT, Benjamin’s name did not surface in any trade rumors.
The Panthers only negotiated with one team, but they came away with a pretty solid deal. They’ve now added third and seventh round picks to their stockpile for the 2018 draft, and that’s more than they would have received in compensation had they allowed Benjamin to walk as a free agent following the ’18 season. The previous regime led by Dave Gettleman was intent on extending Benjamin and keeping him for the long-term, but Marty Hurney‘s front office did not see a future for the former FSU star in Carolina.
Everyone raised hell when Norman left for nothing. If they really planned to let go of KB in the offseason, i appreciate getting something for him when they could!