Less than three months ago, the Carolina Panthers signed Robby Anderson to a two-year, $29.5-million contract extension. The pencil-thin speedster was coming off a career year, one of the bright spots for the 5-11 Panthers team of 2020.
In explaining an extension for a player in Anderson, who was already under contract for 2021 at a reasonable salary, Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer said: “We looked at the (2020) numbers like 95 catches and over 1,000 yards — he produces. A lot of that is game-driven, but I expect those numbers to go up.”
Instead, those numbers have plummeted as Carolina (4-4) prepares to face New England (4-4) at 1 p.m. at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday. The contract extension the Panthers gave Anderson now seems premature and unnecessary. And of the many questions percolating around the facility, this one is among the most frequent: “What’s wrong with Robby Anderson, and can it be fixed?”
There’s no easy answer. But Anderson is emblematic of the Panthers’ offensive struggles, especially in the passing game, as the team has failed to score 20 points in three of its past four contests.
Depending on which statistical service you believe, Anderson is either has the most drops in the NFL or is at least in the bottom five. His receiving yards also have fallen like a stone, from 68.5 yards per game in 2020 to 25.5 yards in 2021. He has caught a mere 36% of the passes targeted to him in 2021, compared with 70% in 2020.
Last week Anderson was targeted just one time. He dropped a perfectly thrown pass by Sam Darnold when he sustained a huge hit that briefly knocked him out of the game. He did come back — Anderson has been very durable for Carolina — and recovered Atlanta’s last-minute onside kick to preserve a 19-13 victory.
Still: one target, zero yards.
Of the 24 games Anderson has played for Carolina in the past two seasons, it was the first time he had ever been shut out as a receiver. Last year he had three 100-yard receiving games; this year he has yet to reach 60 yards in any game.
Anderson’s most widely broadcast move so far this season was screaming at Carolina wide receiver coach Frisman Jackson on the sideline during the loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in an outburst caught on video. (Anderson believed he should have been running more deep routes during the game; the screaming occurred after the Eagles picked off a short sideline pass intended for Anderson.)
Darnold, Anderson chemistry lacking
It turns out that Anderson and Darnold’s chemistry, despite their two years together with the New York Jets, isn’t much good at all.
Darnold doesn’t look for Anderson nearly as often as 2020 Panther quarterback Teddy Bridgewater did. Darnold focuses more on DJ Moore naturally, and the Panthers offense also features Moore as its clear No. 1 receiver. The Panthers also don’t have their quarterbacks do seven-step drops for deep throws as often this season because they’ve been so iffy in pass protection.
It also hasn’t helped that Christian McCaffrey has missed five games in a row. When he and Moore are both playing, Anderson often draws the other team’s third-best cover guy and gets more chances.
But Anderson also hasn’t been inspiring any confidence with all of his drops — six or seven for the season, depending on who’s counting — for a Panther team that also leads the NFL in total drops. (Moore and running back Chuba Hubbard are not far behind Anderson in several drop categories.)
So maybe, just maybe, P.J. Walker’s possible start for Carolina on Sunday is exactly what the 28-year-old Anderson needs. With Darnold questionable Sunday due to the aftermath of a concussion, Walker will quite likely be a temporary replacement.
Walker and Anderson teamed together at Temple in college. “He was a gunslinger,” Anderson recalled fondly. The two have remained tight.
“P.J. is one of my closest friends,” Anderson said. “So the communication and chemistry part of this, that’s been there for years.”
Rhule’s deep connection with Anderson
Matt Rhule coached both Walker and Anderson in college. He has long had a big hand in Anderson’s career, switching Anderson from cornerback to receiver at Temple and helping Anderson return to the Owls once when Anderson was dismissed from Temple for lack of academic progress.
As Anderson once explained it: “He (Rhule) stood on the table with the university to get me back into school, to open up that door for me to right my wrongs.”
Anderson has become a millionaire many times over since then. He has remained a deep threat, too. His first catch of the season was his best, a 57-yard touchdown against the Jets. He’s also a likable character for the Panthers, with the occasional Robby-ism (think Yogi Berra) either on Twitter or in person to lighten up fans and teammates days.
“What’s that bear doing?” is the best-known example, when Anderson mistook Carolina’s black Panther mascot Sir Purr for a bear last year and was set straight by amused teammates.
Anderson had another one this week. He explained that he believed his 175-pound frame could hold up to the rigors of the NFL game, but that he might think differently “if I was walking around in a wheelchair.”
Walking in a wheelchair is oxymoronic, of course, sort of like jumbo shrimp.
Anderson needs more of the jumbo these days, and less of the shrimp. He has kept a good attitude in public the past few weeks as his catches have dwindled all the way to zero, saying he doesn’t want to “live in a negative place.” But Anderson’s lack of production is problematic and obvious.
The Patriots?
They’ll probably double Moore, stack the box against the run and see if Anderson and the rest of the receivers can beat single coverage.
Anderson hasn’t for most of the season. But if he’s going to do it, Sunday will be a big chance.
