Former Cal Running Back C.J. Anderson Retires from NFL

Ex-Golden Bears star played in two Super Bowls despite going undrafted; he plans to pursue a coaching career

Former Cal running back C.J. Anderson, who was a Pro Bowl selection in 2014 and played in two Super Bowls, is retiring from pro football and will pursue a coaching career, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported via Twitter on Friday.

The note that Anderson will land a coaching job with a Power Five conference team is intriguing. 

The 29-year-old Anderson played with the Detroit Lions last season, appearing in just two games, but he was a free agent this season.

Anderson was a consistent running threat while playing for Cal for two years, although he never put up the huge numbers that suggested an NFL career was in store for him.

After playing at Laney (Junior) College in Oakland, Anderson rushed for 345 yards while averaging 4.8 yards per carry as a Golden Bears junior in 2011, then ran for 790 yards and a 6.3 yards-per-carry average in 2012. Anderson split the running back chores with Isi Sofele as a senior, as Sofele had a few more carries than Anderson, but Anderson had a few more rushing yards than Sofele, who wound up with 757 yards on the ground in 2012.

Anderson was not taken in the 2013 NFL draft, and he signed with the Broncos as an undrafted free agent. He made the Pro Bowl in 2014 after rushing for 849 yards and eight touchdowns and adding 324 receiving yards. 

Anderson's most productive season was 2017 when he ran for 1,007 yards for the Broncos.

He played for both the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams in 2018.

Anderson was on the 2015 Broncos team that won the Super Bowl and the 2018 Rams team that lost the Super Bowl.

He rushed for 90 yards and caught four passes in the Broncos' win over the Cowboys in the Super Bowl following the 2015 season, totaled 234 rushing yards in the Broncos' three playoff games that season.

Anderson had 22 rushing yards and two catches in the Rams' Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots following the 2018 season, and he ran for 123 yards in Los Angeles' opening postseason win over the Cowboys that season.

Cover photo by Mark J. Rebilas - USA TODAY Sports

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