Ex-Cal Stars Chad Hansen, Devante Downs Become NFL Free Agents
Former Cal standouts Chad Hansen and Devante Downs had the best seasons of their NFL careers in 2020, but both find themselves as unrestricted free agents after their teams let them go recently. However, another ex-Cal star, Stephen Anderson, was re-signed by the Los Angeles Chargers this week.
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Chad Hansen
The Houston Texans released Hansen this week, even though the wide receiver provided some impressive numbers last season.
The news of his release was overshadowed by the media attention Deshaun Watson is receiving, but Hansen’s release was significant news. A fourth-round pick in 2017 who has been with six teams in four years, Hansen was elevated from the Texans’ practice squad on December 5 of last season because of the suspension of wide receiver Will Fuller.
Hansen had not played in an NFL game since 2017 when he played in the final five games of the 2020 season and made two starts. He had 12 receptions for 157 yards in his first two games on the active roster and finished with 17 catches for 236 yards and a touchdown in his five games.
Hansen made only $119,118 in 2020 and was scheduled to make just $850,000 in 2021.
The 26-year-old Hansen could sign with another team, or he might re-sign with the Texans, although he might want to see how the Deshaun Watson situation shakes out.
A 2020 Chad Hansen highlight:
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Devante Downs
The New York Giants declined to tender inside linebacker Downs, who was a restricted free agent after he started eight games in 2020. As a result of not receiving a tender offer, Downs becomes an unrestricted free agent.
An NFL player becomes a restricted free agent when his contract expires and he has just three accrued NFL seasons. A restricted free agent is free to negotiate and sign with other teams during the free agency period. However, the player’s original team – in this case, the Giants -- can offer him an RFA tender. That tender gives the original team the first right of refusal to match any offer made to an RFA. If the original team withdraws a tender, the RFA becomes an unrestricted free agent.
A seventh-round selection out of Cal in 2018, Downs did not start any games his first two seasons in the NFL and played in only nine games in 2019, which he split between the Vikings and the Giants.
However, he was a surprise starter in the Giants’ 2020 season opener and started three of the first four games. He ended up playing in all 16 games with eight starts and finished with 33 tackles. Downs also had a pivotal fumble recovery when covering a punt on special teams.
Downs made only $750,000 in 2020, making him a big-time bargain for a starting inside linebacker, so perhaps the Giants feel they can re-sign him at a relatively cheap price.
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Stephen Anderson
Anderson was a restricted free agent following the 2020 season, and after the Chargers declined to tender Anderson, making him an unrestricted free agent, they re-signed him this week to a one-year contract. Financial details of the deal were not available, but he made $750,000 in 2020.
His work at the end of the 2020 season apparently made the 28-year-old Anderson attractive enough to keep.
The Chargers were one of the few teams that kept three tight ends on their active roster all season in 2020, and Anderson was the beneficiary as their third-team tight end.
He played in all 16 games last season and started three of them, including the last two games of the season. Anderson finished the season with eight catches for 106 yards, but seven of those receptions and 100 of those receiving yards came in the final two games.
He played 136 snaps for Los Angeles last season and was a productive special-teams player.
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Cover photo of Stephen Anderson by Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY Sports
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