Why Chosen Anderson Cherry-Picked the Dolphins to Resurrect his NFL Career
This decision wasn’t predetermined, or a last resort.
If you listen to Chosen Anderson, signing with the Miami Dolphins was predestined.
The team’s newest veteran receiver grew up a Dolphins fan during the Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas era of the franchise, back when a 9-to-11-win regular season was the norm.
“This is a dream come true to be a Dolphins,” said Anderson, who changed his name from Robbie Anderson to Chosen this offseason for reasons he won’t disclose just yet because “I want to keep it intimate.”
Anytime he’d drive by Hard Rock Stadium, which he affectionately calls Joe Robbie Stadium like so many long-time Dolphins fans do going back to the venue's original name, Anderson said there would be a special feeling that came over him.
It was as if the stadium was speaking to him, calling him.
When he played inside the stadium as a member of the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers, the seven-year veteran routinely would stay behind and take pictures on the field with friends and family members.
So when the opportunity came to finally join the Dolphins, this Weston resident deliberated for two days before agreeing to a one-year deal for $1.1 million, which included a $150,000 singing bonus, that would allow him to live out a childhood dream.
“My heart led me to being here,” Anderson said Tuesday at the conclusion of an on-field workout with his new teammates.
There was a short list of teams willing to give this colorful, but reserved, receiver a chance to resurrect his career following his toughest NFL season, but his mind was made up.
”We didn’t promise him anything," General Manager Chris Grier said about Anderson. “We said we’ve got some good young players here that are pushing for time and he understood that."
Anderson has high opinion of Tua
It was the respect Anderson held for Tua Tagovailoa and his skill set that lured him.
“I have a lot of respect for him seeing what he’s gone through throughout his career,” Anderson said, likely referring to Tagovailoa’s college injuries, the challenges he had with former head coach Brian Flores, and his battle with concussions last season.
The prospect of being coached by Wes Welker, a long-time NFL standout who enters his second season as Miami’s receivers coach, also enticed him.
“I’m thankful to be coached by someone who played at such a high level,” Anderson said about Welker, who caught 903 passes for 9,924 yards and scored 50 touchdowns in the 175 games he played in his 12 seasons. “I’m all ears, and listening to everything.”
And a bond he developed with head coach Mike McDaniel during his multiple recruiting visits to Miami’s facility sold him.
“We had instant chemistry,” Andersons said about McDaniel, who called plays for the offense that ranked sixth in the NFL in yards per game last season.
Anderson is working on impressing his new coaches to the point he doesn’t just earn a spot on the 53-man roster, but also locks down a role playing alongside Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, who he labeled the best receiver duo in the NFL last year.
“I’m a firm believer you are the company you keep,” said Anderson, whose forte is strengthening the field with his speed and catching deep balls.
Could Anderson become Miami's slot receiver?
Because those also are Hill and Waddle’s strengths, putting all three on the field together could make every Dolphins receiver spot interchangeable. Enhancing that possibility is the fact Anderson has experience playing the slot receiver role in his previous NFL stops.
That role happened to be wide open because of the free agent departure of Trent Sherfield, who signed with the Bills, and new Patriots tight end Mike Gesicki, who oftentimes played in the slot receiver spot.
Anderson’s main competition to serve as Miami’s third receiver is Braxton Berrios, another free agent addition this offseason; Cedrick Wilson Jr., a veteran the Dolphins admitted to shopping during the draft; Erik Ezukanma, a 2022 fourth-round pick who barely played last season; and River Cracraft, who caught nine passes for 102 yards and scored two touchdowns in the 11 games he played last year.
“They are hella fast, good receivers,” Dolphins safety Jevon Holland said, referring to Anderson and Berrios, the two newcomers. “They are both electric players. They’ve had success. I’m excited to have them on the team.”
Anderson, who has started 86 of the 111 games he’s played, is the unit’s most experienced receiver with the exception of Hill. But his summer will be spent silencing the whispers that he no longer has the skills to be impactful.
Anderson hopes to use the struggles he had last season while playing for the Panthers and then the Cardinals following the mid-October trade as a learning lesson.
“Difficult part of last year was seeing things before it happened in Carolina and trying to stay positive in the situation,” Anderson said, referring to the eventual removal of head coach Matt Rhule, who coached him in college at Temple and brought him to the Panthers as a coveted free agent in 2020.
“The trade was difficult, but that’s what brings out the best in you. Hard times,” said Anderson, who caught 20 passes for 282 yards and scored one touchdown last season. “I grew a lot from the situation.”
It was a season that not only kept him humble, but driven as the 30-year-old enters the final chapter of his NFL career.
One where he finally does it in his own backyard living out a childhood dream.
