It did not take long for Robbie Anderson to find a new home after his Week 6 sideline tirade.
The veteran Panthers receiver was ejected from the team’s 24-10 loss to the Rams by his own coach after mixing it up with position coach Joe Dailey on the sideline. Anderson refused even to sit with his fellow receivers, prompting interim coach Steve Wilks to tell him to leave the field.
That turned out to be Anderson’s last action as a Panther. Carolina traded him to the Cardinals on Monday less than 24 hours after his tirade.
Anderson will be asked to quickly assimilate into Arizona’s team as the reeling Cardinals offense looks to improve upon a 2-4 start to the season. Anderson probably won’t be able to play in Arizona’s Week 7 “Thursday Night Football” game, but after that, he will provide Kyler Murray with another experienced pass catcher.
Anderson, for one, seemed pleased with the news and took to Twitter to express excitement about the move in a series of emojis.
— Robbie Anderson (@chosen1ra) October 17, 2022
But just what did Arizona give up to get Anderson? Here’s a breakdown of the compensation and why the Cardinals traded for the disgruntled Panthers receivers.
NFL POWER RANKINGS: Where Cardinals, Panthers stand after Week 6
Robbie Anderson trade details
Cardinals get:
Panthers get:
- 2024 sixth-round draft pick
- 2025 seventh-round draft pick
Arizona is taking this opportunity to buy low on Anderson and provide more depth and experience to its banged-up receiving corps.
The Cardinals entered the season with plenty of recognizable names on their depth chart. However, they haven’t gotten consistent performance at the position from anyone besides Hollywood Brown, who suffered a foot injury that could be season-ending in Week 6 against the Seahawks. So, Anderson will serve as a like-for-like replacement.
Like Brown, Anderson is a deep threat who has a 1,000-yard season to his name. But Anderson is a lot bigger than Brown at 6-3, 190 pounds; the 29-year-old should be a solid fit in Arizona’s offense and will complement DeAndre Hopkins well as the star receiver returns from a six-game suspension.
As for the Panthers, they had to move on from Anderson in wake of his sideline outburst. That they didn’t have to cut him outright should be viewed as a win.
The Cardinals classified what was heading to the Panthers as “undisclosed draft compensation.” ESPN’s Adam Schefter followed up with a report that the Panthers will get a sixth-round pick in the 2024 draft and a seventh-round pick in the 2025 edition from Arizona.
MORE: What’s wrong with the Cardinals offense? Kliff Kingsbury, Kyler Murray must find answers
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that the Panthers had been looking to move on from Anderson since Matt Rhule, who coached Anderson at Temple, was fired. Thus, an outcome like this was likely even before Sunday’s incident.
Robbie Anderson contract
The other plus for the Panthers is that they will get out of paying the rest of Anderson’s base salary for 2022. Pelissero reports that Anderson is owed $690,000 of his base salary; that will be paid by Arizona after the trade.
The #Cardinals owe Robbie Anderson the remaining $690,000 prorated portion of his base salary after the trade from the #Panthers, who were looking to move Anderson as soon as Matt Rhule was fired a week ago.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 17, 2022
Anderson is under contract until 2023, so the Cardinals can keep him around beyond this season if they so desire. The veteran originally signed a two-year extension with the Panthers worth $29.5 million; as such, the last year of his deal comes with a base salary of $8.8 million and a cap hit of $12 million.
Below is a look at what Arizona could pay Anderson if it elects to keep him.
| Year | Base salary | Signing bonus | Roster bonus | Cap hit |
| 2022 | $690,000 | — | — | $690,000 |
| 2023 | $8,800,000 | $3,000,000 | $200,000 | $12,000,000 |
That said, if they don’t want to keep him, they can cut him after the 2022 NFL season without taking a dead cap hit. So, effectively, they have a one-year, $12 million option on Anderson.
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