REPORT: Patriots Interested in Trading for Panthers WR Robby Anderson

During this week's NFL Combine in Indianapolis, the New England Patriots asked about the availability of Panthers wide receiver Robby Anderson via trade, according to Greg Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal.

After spending the first four years of his NFL career with the New York Jets, Anderson signed a two-year, $20 million contract with the Panthers, teaming up with his former college head coach Matt Rhule. A big reason why Anderson wanted to come to Carolina wasn't just to play for Rhule, but he wanted to be in a situation where he could excel. During the early stages of his career at Temple, Anderson struggled to maintain a GPA that would allow him to play. Rhule did everything in his power to readmit Anderson into the university after being dismissed for not meeting academic standards. At the time, the policy permitted students from returning to Temple for five years following an academic dismissal.

“He [Rhule] stood on the table with the university to get me back into school, to open up that door for me to rewrite my wrongs to get me in the position I’m in today,” Anderson said. “I wasn’t handling my business in the classroom. I fell short. I was academically suspended. How the school’s rules were set up, I wasn’t supposed to be able to come back to school for five years due to my suspension and my GPA. But Coach Rhule fought hard for literally like a whole year over and over and over and finally, they decided to change the university’s rules which gave me the chance to come back in the summer. I had to work hard and raise my GPA and took a crazy amount of summer classes just to get eligible to play my senior year.”

In his first year with the Panthers, Anderson blossomed into one of the better receivers in the NFC by hauling in 95 receptions for 1,096 yards, and three touchdowns. In the offseason, Anderson and the Panthers agreed to a two-year, $29.5 million extension running through the 2023 season. Unfortunately, Anderson's production fell off the table in 2021 as he and starting quarterback Sam Darnold couldn't establish a connection for whatever reason. He ended the year with just 53 receptions for 519 yards and five touchdowns.

Considering that the Panthers don't have a second or third round pick in this year's draft and are also searching for ways to create more cap space, trading Anderson might be a good idea. The asking price for Anderson won't likely be a day two pick, but any draft compensation certainly helps and if the Patriots were to take on most or all of Anderson's contract then it's a win-win situation for Carolina. However, this will leave the Panthers with just D.J. Moore, Terrace Marshall Jr., and Shi Smith at the receiver spot. They will have to add another veteran or two to compete for the No. 2 and 3 spots on the depth chart to make up for Anderson's departure.

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