Steve Smith, ‘jealous uncle’ of Panthers receivers, slings insult at Kelvin Benjamin
If you want good TV or good radio, just ask Steve Smith about Carolina Panthers wide receivers.
WFNZ radio host Kyle Bailey asked Smith, the former Panthers great, about Curtis Samuel on Wednesday afternoon. Bailey was curious about reports about Samuel having or not having a good training camp (Samuel injured his hamstring recently), and Bailey asked Smith what the receiver needed to do to eventually get a new contract and stay in Charlotte.
Wednesday afternoon, Smith eventually got around to answering the Samuel question but not before he took a shot at a YouTube vlogger who Smith claimed called him an “old jealous uncle” who was living vicariously through the younger players who are now playing his position.
“You know,” Smith began, “I hate talking about this, because there are gonna be people ... that say I’m jealous. Other people will say, ‘Oh, you know he’s just bitter,’ or one of these YouTubers ... who said, I’m the old jealous uncle who’s living (vicariously) through the Panthers wide receivers.”
Then Smith — the franchise’s all-time leader in receiving yards, catches and touchdowns — continued and got a gut-punch in on former Panthers receiver Kelvin Benjamin, who had more than 1,000 yards receiving as a rookie in 2014, but is currently a free agent.
“Go look up the record books and ‘Jealous Uncle’ name ain’t on there,” Smith said. “So I’ve lived my life. But I’m also now doing football. So, what Curtis Samuel needs to do — is get on the football field and learn what his groove is. There are people who (said) I was just a returner, or people say, ‘We were glad to get him out (of) here and Kelvin Benjamin will replace him. Well, he is parking cars right now, so hold your horses. Just understand, everybody learns differently. ... Just let the young man play, learn the new system which everybody else has to learn, learn his new quarterback....Let him get his time to figure out where he fits in the new offense.”
Samuel is on the last year of his rookie deal, and during a media call Tuesday, Panthers coach Matt Rhule praised Samuel’s play.
This story was originally published September 2, 2020 at 3:48 PM.
