The New York Jets were one of the biggest spenders in free agency last offseason season, and now they are making a concerted attempt to keep one of their own before he hits the open market this March. Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, the Jets are making efforts to re-sign wide receiver Robby Anderson, who is expected to be one of the top players at his position in free agency if he hits the open market.
A former undrafted free agent out of Temple, Anderson has developed a reputation as one of the best deep-ball wide receivers in the NFL. In 16 games last season (15 starts), Anderson had 52 catches for 779 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 15.0 yards per catch. Anderson has 207 catches for 3,059 yards and 20 touchdowns in four seasons, averaging 14.8 yards per catch. That equates to 52 catches for 768 yards and five touchdowns on average for the 26-year-old Anderson.
Anderson has not proven he can be a No. 1 wide receiver just yet but has had success in the NFL despite inconsistent quarterback play over his time with the Jets. Anderson has caught passes from Ryan Fitzpatrick, Bryce Petty, Josh McCown, and Sam Darnold. Anderson has had 50+ catches and 750+ yards over the last two seasons with Darnold taking the majority of snaps at quarterback.
Spotrac projects Anderson will make an average annual salary of $12 million per season, a much higher amount than the $3.095 million he made with the Jets in 2019. The Jets have a projected $49,403,190 in salary cap space (per Over the Cap), so there's room to strike a deal with Anderson.
Anderson's market will be strong as teams will be looking for speed at wide receiver, which is paramount in today's NFL. Consistent quarterback play would immensely benefit Anderson, making a multi-year contract worth $10+ million a season worth the investment.
The Jets aren't out of the Anderson race yet and they're still hoping to reach a deal with their leading receiver in two of the past three seasons before he hits the market.
"I think any time you can keep bringing guys that have been in the system back, it's always helpful," said Jets head coach Adam Gase last month, via SNY. "Not only the coaching staff but to the entire building because everybody kinda knows the flow of everything, knows the schedule, how practice is gonna go, know the systems and how everything works out. There's no learning curve."
