Robby Anderson was viewed mostly as a happy-go-lucky personality throughout his career with the Jets. Behind closed doors, though, there was a much different dynamic at play.
With his bubbly presence in the locker room and social media musings that made him a folk hero among fans, it looked like the former undrafted free agent was thoroughly enjoying his time in the Big Apple. The tide turned in Anderson’s final season with New York, though, and the former undrafted free agent began to question his love for the game.
In a recent Q&A with the Charlotte Observer, Anderson said there were times with the Jets where he had little desire to put the pads on. When he hit free agency last offseason, the 27-year-old opted to leave New York and sign with the Panthers — a decision he does not regret in the slightest.
“I definitely think that was one of the best decisions I made in all,” Anderson told The Observer’s Alaina Getzenberg. “I just felt like a sense of peace being there. It was times when I was in New York that I honestly, I just didn’t, I felt like I was losing my love for football. It was days I wouldn’t even want to go to the building like I didn’t like feeling like that … there was just a lot of things. I just wasn’t genuinely happy there all the time.”
Anderson enjoyed a career-year in his first season with the Panthers, catching 95 passes for 1,096 yards and three touchdowns. He also saw a career-high 136 passes thrown his way.
“In Carolina, it just felt like a new breath of air for me and I just (felt) at a real peace, I felt comfortable,” Anderson said. “Like I actually liked Charlotte. I was excited to go to work every day and get better and just enjoy even though things weren’t always 100% how we would want them to be, but I still was happy being there and still enjoyed it.”
Anderson caught on with the Jets as an undrafted free agent out of Temple in 2016 and quickly rose up the depth chart. Although wins came few and far between during his four seasons with Gang Green, Anderson eventually became New York’s No. 1 receiver. However, he remained mostly a one-trick pony as a deep threat.
That all changed once he arrived in Carolina, as Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady used Anderson in a multitude of ways, contributing largely to his first 1,000-yard season.
“I felt like in Carolina, they believed in me,” Anderson said. “At times in New York, I felt like they would try and find reasons for why I couldn’t do things, instead of giving me the opportunity to do things, you know? And it used to frustrate me, because I knew my passion, I knew my heart and I knew my capabilities. I didn’t always feel like I had a fair shot to become what I was capable of being.”
Anderson is the latest former Jets player to express a feeling of misery during his time with the team. Jamal Adams, who forced his way out of New York with a trade last summer, said he fought depression while with the Jets.