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Steve Smith’s Conference Call with Panthers Reporters was Interesting

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith didn’t necessarily leave the Carolina Panthers on a good note this past offseason. The veteran, who played his first 13 seasons in the NFL with Carolina, was released by the team in a surprising move. And he apparently didn’t take it too well.

Now the Ravens No. 1 receiver, Smith will be taking on these very same Panthers at home this upcoming weekend. As is the case with players around the league, the veteran was required to have a conference call with reporters from the opposing team.

For Smith, who normally doesn’t hold back in the press, the conference call provided a little information on his thought process heading into Week 4. Here is a brief review of how it went (via blackandbluereview.com).

Q: Did you ever get a clear explanation for why you’re no longer in a Panthers uniform?

A: Honestly, I don’t want to really dive into that. All I will say is no one has ever woke up in the morning and accepted, for whatever reason, being let go, or fired, or laid off. For every man that tries to earn a living — despite the amount of money — you always try to go to work trying to give them more than what they pay you. And when things don’t go well, no one walks out — unless you hate your job — nobody walks out of their job and says, ‘Yay, I just got fired!’ Whether there was an explanation that I accepted or not, at the end of the day, there are reasons why I was let go and it doesn’t really matter moving forward because I’m in a place now where I get to still play. I’m playing pretty good and just enjoying that.

Q: Any extra incentive this week?

A: You guys know me. You think you know me better than myself, but I love playing ball. And anytime I can play ball, I’m going to take advantage of it.

Q: Cam said the chip on your shoulder is one of your greatest assets. How’s that chip this week?

A: Whatever way you want to put it.

Q: So you don’t have any bulletin board material for us?

A: You all are going to make something up anyway, so what’s the sense?

Q: Opinion on Kelvin Benjamin?

A: He’s a 6-5 Cam Newton with dreads. They look very similar, but he’s very athletic. He catches the ball well. It doesn’t surprise me what he’s done thus far. The ability to catch the ball, I think he displayed that in college.

Q: Cam said if he had to come up with a nickname for you, it would be Mighty Mouse. Does that fit?

A: Yeah, whatever. I’ve got to get going. They told me I’ve got to do the podium.

The media wasn’t necessarily trying to get a sound bite out of Smith here, but he definitely provided one. “He’s (Kelvin Benjamin) a 6-5 Cam Newton with dreads.” Okay, now that’s pretty awesome.

We can expect the veteran to be fired up a little bit against his former team come Sunday. Smith is leading the Ravens with 18 receptions for 290 yards through three games.

Photo: CBS Sports

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