An odd situation occurred on Wednesday at the start of training camp for the New York Giants. With the team taking the field preparing to start the off-season, TE/WR Kelvin Benjamin was stopped short of joining his teammates by head coach Joe Judge and general manager Dave Gettleman.
Gettleman was seemingly doing Benjamin a favor, bringing him in for minicamp and letting him compete on the back end of the roster. However, Judge asked him a simple question two months ago, and it was regarding weight loss.
Essentially, Judge requested the veteran receiver cut 20 pounds off his frame, but Benjamin was unable to do so. Instead, he showed up to practice 17 pounds overweight, which incited a quick response from Judge, sending him on his way and cutting him that very moment.
After Benjamin walked off the field somberly, Zack Rosenblatt of nj.com managed to secure an interview with Benjamin later on in the day.
“It was just like they were trying to sabotage me to get me out of there,†Benjamin said.
“I just felt like from Day 1, once I stepped on the field, once I put on the colors, he never liked me,†Benjamin said. “He didn’t even want me there.â€
“I have a perspective on Joe Judge,†Benjamin said. “He’s not a coach that can ever win a Super Bowl because he sits there and cusses all day. 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.â€