If not for C.J. Anderson, the Los Angeles Rams may not have reached the Super Bowl. He helped them secure a first-round bye with 100-yard performances in the last two games of the regular season before racking up 123 yards and two touchdowns in the Rams’ win over Dallas in the divisional round.
He filled in admirably for the injured Todd Gurley, looking like a Pro Bowl back behind the Rams’ outstanding offensive line. As good as he was, his stay in L.A. might have been brief. Anderson is a free agent and has yet to be re-signed by the Rams, who watched Malcolm Brown sign an offer sheet with the Lions.
Anderson tweeted last week that he had yet to receive a single offer from a team this offseason, seemingly generating little interest on the open market. On Thursday, he shared two cryptic tweets that suggest the Rams won’t be bringing him back in 2019.
Hours after that tweet was posted, Anderson shared this message, as well. He says he just wants the chance to play all 16 games as the starter without teams making excuses.
He doesn’t want to hear about how coaches and general managers “like this guy” instead. Anderson wants the chance to play all 16 games so he can show what he’s capable of.
Les Snead said on Thursday at Clay Matthews’ introductory press conference that the Rams are still discussing whether to match the Lions’ offer sheet for Brown. The team hopes to have a decision by Friday, either paying him $3.25 million for two years or letting him join Detroit.
Could Anderson’s tweets suggest that the Rams are going to match the Lions’ offer? If Brown returns, it’s hard to see Anderson being back, too. The Rams simply can’t sink that much money into the running back position with Gurley being the highest-paid tailback in the league.
We should find out soon whether it’ll be Brown or Anderson backing up Gurley, but all indications point toward it being the former.
