Robby Anderson: ‘I felt like I was losing my love for football’ while with Jets

Former New York Jets and current Carolina Panthers wideout Robby Anderson speaks on his time with Gang Green.

It’s amazing how your feelings over something you love can change when you’re not in the right setting; how a certain place can change the way you think, the way you go about your day.

When Robby Anderson played for the New York Jets, he didn’t feel 100%, and admitted so when speaking with Alaina Getzenberg of The Charlotte Observer.

“I definitely think [signing with the Panthers] was one of the best decisions I made all in all. I just felt like a sense of peace being there,” Anderson said. “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. And in Carolina, it just felt like a new breath of air for me and I just [felt] at a real peace, I felt comfortable. 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.”

No, the Jets don’t possess the greatest reputation when it comes to making players happy, and the losing more than certainly plays a role in that. The team hasn’t reached the playoffs since the 2010 season, so any type of winning culture is long in the past.

Anderson departed Florham Park to sign a two-year, $20 million deal with the Panthers last offseason and link up with his former college head coach. Matt Rhule, before becoming Carolina’s head coach last year, was with Anderson during his tenure at Temple.

Losing Anderson was a detriment to the Jets offense considering he was one of New York’s top receivers in 2019. New beginnings in Charlotte turned out to be great for Anderson’s on-field production though. The young wideout underwent his best statistical season by far, setting career-highs in receptions (95), yards (1,096), and catch rate (69.9%).

The Jets passing attack suffered after the loss of Anderson via free agency. New York was second-to-last with just 174.8 passing yards per game in 2020.