They benched him to screw him out of money. He's not a great QB but he's objectively better than anything else they have on the depth chart. He got bumped from starter to playing scout team safety in one week, and it was solely to prevent him from hitting any contract incentives on his way out.
There's ansolutely nothing wrong about asking for your release when your employer has actively worked to prevent you from making money and you both know you have no future there.