This past season, Carolina Panthers wideout Robby Anderson detailed how Bill Belichick tried to sign him over the to New England as a free agent in 2020.
“Last year when I was in free agency, when he tried to get me to sign there, he was like ‘I’m tired of scheming against you. I’m tired of going against you,’” Anderson said in the buildup to the Week 9 matchup. “It came down to them [Carolina and New England] and a couple other teams. But, ya know, business decision.”
Well, the Panthers—seemingly with Belichick in mind—might now be making a business decision on him.
According to Greg Bedard of Boston Sports Journal, the Panthers and Patriots have discussed a deal centering around the six-year receiver. Bedard also adds that New England will look to move on from Nelson Agholor, who they signed to a two-year, $22 million deal last spring, if a trade can be completed.
Shipping away Anderson would open up a chunk of cash for Carolina and, perhaps, give them some additional resources—likely draft compensation—in return.
If such a deal were to go down before June 1, the Panthers would save a little over $9 million in space with Anderson accounting for $7.6 million in dead cap. If this were to stretch past that date—which wouldn’t seem quite as realistic—those numbers would shift to $13 million and $3.8 million, respectively.
Anderson, fresh off a sweet two-year pact of his own, is coming off the worst season of his NFL tenure. The 28-year-old reeled in 53 of 110 targets for a career-low 519 yards and five touchdowns.
