Kelvin Benjamin tells his side of story following bizarre Giants cut

The Giants cut Kelvin Benjamin Wednesday following an on-field discussion between the tight end, Dave Gettleman, and Joe Judge.

Kelvin Benjamin took the field Wednesday for his first training camp practice with the Giants. Big Blue had signed Benjamin back in May following a rookie minicamp tryout.

However, he was also cut Wednesday.

Towards the beginning of practice, Benjamin had a visible discussion with both Joe Judge and Dave Gettleman before walking off the field. His release subsequently occurred.

A bizarre scene, no less. But Benjamin has his side of the entire story.

“I just felt like from Day 1, once I stepped on the field, once I put on the colors, [Judge] never liked me,” Benjamin told NJ.com’s Zack Rosenblatt in a Wednesday phone interview. “He didn’t even want me there.”

Gettleman initially reached out to Benjamin, who hasn’t played in a regular-season game since 2018, about a try-out. The Giants general manager drafted him in 2014 when he was the Panthers GM.

Apparently, per what Benjamin told Rosenblatt, the receiver-turned-tight end weighed 265 pounds at the conclusion of minicamp and was informed he needed to cut down to 251. He arrived at training camp weighing 268 but was able to pass the tight end conditioning test Tuesday.

Benjamin claims that when Judge conversed with him at practice, he told him the team was going to fine him for being overweight.

Kelvin responded, “How are you going to do that…So you want me to be a smaller tight end than when I played wide receiver. He had nothing to say. He quieted down.”

“He didn’t even talk to me [on Tuesday],” he added. “The day before practice, he didn’t bring all of this up. I just felt like the dude didn’t like me. Mr. Gettleman knew exactly what went down. Everybody in the building was telling me I looked great. I was feeling good. It’s crazy how they twisting the narrative about everything like it’s a joke. They make it seem like we don’t even matter. That’s the thing about humanity, man.”

Kelvin ultimately believes his short-lived tenure with the team was “all a hoax.” He additionally told Rosenblatt he intends to move back to Florida and no longer spend time in the league.

But Benjamin’s most significant take amid the fall-out of his Giants tenure is how he spoke of Judge, who’s now in his second season as Big Blue’s head coach.

“He’s not a coach that can ever win a Super Bowl because he sits there and cusses all day,” Kelvin said. “You can tell he’s one-sided about everything. He’s a know-it-all. That’s not how it’s supposed to work. We all can learn from each other. We’re all humans at the end of the day. The true colors will come out.”

Pretty strong words…maybe Benjamin is stuck in the moment and still processing everything that occurred Wednesday? Or maybe this is actually how he’s felt about Judge the entire time and how he’ll continue to perceive him?

Regardless of his opinion, Benjamin’s time in East Rutherford has concluded. The two parties now go in separate directions.