Dolphins awarded CB Bene Benwikere off waivers

The Miami Dolphins have been awarded former Carolina Panthers cornerback Bene Benwikere, according to a report from NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. Benwikere was starting for the Panthers this season - the replacement for Josh Norman - but was waived after he struggled against Julio Jones in the Panthers’ 48-33 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

Benwikere was a fifth round pick by the Panthers in 2014. He has appeared in 27 games, with 14 starts, in his career, including starting the first four games for Carolina this year. He has two career interceptions, 21 passes defensed, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, a sack, and 104 tackles.

Benwikere was covering Jones for 228 yards on his 300-yard receiving performance. He started the 2016 preseason on the Physically Unable to Perform list after breaking his leg last season. There were questions leading up to his waiving by the Panthers of whether he was back to 100 percent, and, if he was completely healthy, was be back in football shape.

“People are forgetting that the kid literally broke his leg 10 months ago (and) is literally just getting back into it,” said Bardia Ghahremani, Benwikere’s agent, according to the Charlotte Observer.. “Last week they were expecting – Bradberry was supposed to follow Julio. He goes down. With no (practice) reps on Julio and getting back in the flow of things, what do you expect?”

The Dolphins have been dealing with a thin cornerback group all season. No announcement on the corresponding roster move has been made.