The Jets regret letting Robby Anderson go to the Panthers in free agency
In his first eight games with the Carolina Panthers, wide receiver Robby Anderson has more 99-yard receiving games than he did in any of his four years with the New York Jets.
Anderson is third in the league in receiving yards (688) and has become one of quarterback Teddy Bridgewater’s go-to targets.
On Tuesday, Jets general manager Joe Douglas expressed regret for letting Anderson walk in free agency.
“I thought about Robby a lot,” Douglas told local reporters. “I thought our guys did a fantastic job of really analyzing every position group’s market value, leading up to free agency last year, and I think what went wrong with us ... we thought that Robby’s value was going to be even greater than what he signed for in Carolina. And so I think that’s on me, ultimately, and that’s on us moving forward to get a better handle on every player’s market value.
“Honestly, we would all love to see Robby here doing what he’s doing. But I tip my hat to the success he has, but obviously we don’t want to be in the business of losing good players.”
The Panthers signed Anderson to a two-year, $20 million contract this offseason after the high-profile free agent did not go for as big of a contract as many expected.
Anderson was considered almost solely a deep threat during his time with the Jets. He signed in New York as an undrafted free agent in 2016 out of Temple, where he played under Panthers head coach Matt Rhule. He and Rhule were particularly close as the coach fought for Anderson to come back to college after he was dismissed due to lack of academic progress.
“Winning in his blood,” Anderson told The Observer of Rhule. “I know that’s what he’s here to do. There wasn’t really much he had to sell me on. ... I wanted to be a Panther.”
Anderson and Bridgewater have clicked partly due to the amount of time they spent working out together in South Florida prior to the start of training camp.
In coordinator Joe Brady’s offense, Anderson has proved he can play all over the field and emerged as a top wideout. He only has one receiving touchdown and his production has decreased as of late, but his emergence as a dependable receiver has been key to any success the offense has had.
“I can’t comment on what they did with the Jets,” Brady said when asked about what’s working for Robby in Carolina that wasn’t in New York. “ I think Teddy’s done a great job of building chemistry with Robby, and and Robby’s done a great job of getting open and making plays with the ball in his hands.”
The Jets remain winless through eight games and have the worst passing offense (1,247 yards and 56.7% completion percentage) in the NFL.
This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 7:11 PM.
