By Jordan Long
The Detroit Lions added depth to their running back position, agreeing to a 1-year contract with C.J. Anderson. This is in hopes of boosting the backfield. The financial terms of the deal haven’t been announced.
Anderson will be entering his 7th year in the NFL. Most of it was spent in Denver where he made a name for himself. With the Broncos, he rushed for 3,051 yards and 20 touchdowns in 5 seasons. His average yards per rush was 4.4. He helped the Broncos win Super Bowl 50. In that Super Bowl run, Anderson added 234 yards on the ground with 2 touchdowns.
Last offseason Denver decided it was time to let Anderson go. He was due to make $9 million. The Broncos knew they wanted to be a younger team in the backfield and released Anderson. It saved the Broncos $4.5 million in cap space.
Anderson spent time with 3 teams last year. His first stop was with the Carolina Panthers. He appeared in 9 games with the Panthers, rushing for a disappointing 104 yards. Carolina released him on November 12th, 2018. They wanted a bigger role for him in the offense but his playing time diminished and they felt it was best to move on from Anderson. It took until December 4th for another team to take a chance, the Oakland Raiders. It didn’t last. He was cut a week later and didn’t even see the field.
The L.A. Rams took a chance on him on December 18th. They were in a playoff position but knew they needed more than Todd Gurley in the backfield to make a Super Bowl run. In 2 regular season games, Anderson rushed for 299 yards and 2 touchdowns. In the playoffs, Anderson was in on 3rd downs and close to the goal line. He managed to run for 189 yards and 2 touchdowns, helping the Rams to Super Bowl LIII where they lost to the New England Patriots 13-3.
The Rams thought about keeping him but let Anderson test free agency. The Lions were looking for a running back. They know their starter will be Kerryon Johnson while the third down running back is Theo Riddick. That leaves C.J. Anderson vying to be the 2nd running back on the depth chart behind Johnson.
The Lions hope Anderson is the answer to help take the load off of Johnson. Anderson must prove he can in preseason games and in training camp. If Anderson plays well, he will make the team. If not, the Lions are forced to let him go. At least the Lions didn’t give him a long-term contract. Hopefully Anderson shines in the backfield for the Lions as they look to make the playoffs for the 1st time since 2016.
I’m a Bronco Fan – still angry with Elway for pinching pennies w/Anderson. He and Lindsay would have been spectacular in 2018. It’s about time the Lions stopped expecting QB to succeed all by himself.
It’s about time Detroit stopped expecting