On more than one occasion, Denver Broncos Running Back C.J. Anderson has uttered the phrase, “I want you to feel my story.” It’s a line he freely admits he borrowed from fellow Cal Bear running back, Marshawn Lynch but fits him to a T.
Undrafted out of Cal, Anderson caught Broncos fans, and for that matter, coaches attention in the 2013 pre-season. His game action was cut short before the real games started because of an injury against San Francisco, but, he did enough to earn a roster spot. He played sparingly as a rookie as the Broncos marched to the Super Bowl.
In his second season, he earned a Pro Bowl nod in basically half a season racking up 1,117 yards rushing and receiving and 10 total touchdowns (794 and 8TDs on the ground) in the final eight games of the year. His 2014 output and the transition to Gary Kubiak’s run first, zone-blocking offense, and Anderson became a top fantasy football draft pick. He had high expectations, but fantasy owners had even higher hopes.
By the third week of the season, after a slow start statistically, he was already fed up with fantasy football. “My Twitter and my Instagram have been all negativity,” he said. His followers would say things that were less than supportive as he recounted, “’Hey, you suck, You’re not that good.’ I mean, it’s been outrageous,” Anderson lamented. “Bench me. Drop me. I don’t really care.” he said at his locker.
So, as his production improved late in the year, after he got past some nagging injuries, he basically told me all of the fantasy owners who were now back on the bandwagon, could, “F-off.”
Anderson is easily the most talkative Bronco in the locker room. Because media entering the players “sanctuary” at UC Health Center have to enter a specific door, and exit the same door, more times than not, at any given time in the nearly four hours of “open locker room” every week, every single media member covering the Broncos will hear Anderson yapping away. And, it’s a safe bet, the conversation is a kin to something you’d hear in a barbershop or a sports bar.
The subjects Anderson will touch on are varied, and are rarely about a week’s opponent. He’s happy to talk about his pickup basketball exploits, almost never conceding that any of his teammates are better on the hardwood than he is.
He’ll willingly engage about NBA players, and teams, and on more than one occasion, was quick to help us rank running backs deserving of the hall-of-fame.
So, as free agency loomed, and knowing that he was a restricted free agent, it seemed a given that John Elway and the Broncos would have him back.
Then the Broncos put a low-round tender on him, which guaranteed him a salary of $1.6 Million, and gave them a right to match any contract offer another team presented him within five days. If they chose not to match, the team would receive no compensation.
Not surprisingly, Anderson took to twitter to react:
Wow welp I’ve been here b4 jus keep grinding keep working 2 be the best 32-254-22
— Cj Anderson (@cjandersonb22) March 7, 2016
The 32-254-22 signifies, the 32 NFL teams who passed on him, the 254 players who were drafted in 2013, and the 22 refers to the number of running backs selected in said draft.
Anderson’s disappointment didn’t last long as on the first full day of Free Agency, he went to the San Francisco Airport set to fly to Chicago, but instead flew to Miami. The Dolphins offered him a four-year, $18 Million deal that guaranteed him $9 Million, and front-loaded it with $6.5 Million guaranteed in the first year. That deal, which he of course signed, would certainly, at least, make The Broncos have to think hard about matching the deal.
It’s also worth considering, under Elway, the Broncos have rarely matched deals for players who have gone out and looked to see what the market would be for their services. In fact, the list of players that Elway & Co. have let walk is long, from Zane Beadles to Julius Thomas, Orlando Franklin, to Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and even this year, Malik Jackson and Danny Trevathan. But, they did try to get Quarterback Brock Osweiler back, reportedly offering $16 Million and $30 Million guaranteed. Once he bolted for more money in Houston, and Anderson signed to join his old offensive coordinator, Adam Gase in Miami, it seemed like Elway’s once sterling record in off-season personnel, had taken a bit of a hit.
But, as time passed from Thursday when Anderson signed the offer, the Tuesday 2:00 pm Mountain Time deadline approached, it seemed uncertain what The Broncos play would be. I reached out to Anderson’s camp a few hours before the deadline, and they hadn’t heard anything.
No matter what happened, Anderson was going to be a wealthy man.
So, around 1:00 Elway called Anderson to let him know The Broncos were matching the offer. He recounted the conversation to local media on a conference call about 45 minutes later: “’You know what? The expectations of you as a leader as well as somebody that is a part of this organization—all those expectations go up.’ With the rise in pay also goes the rise in expectations, and I think C.J. understands that and he’s ready to handle that,’” Elway said.
Anderson met with the media a few hours later, and said he had higher expectations of himself, than Elway or the organization had on him.
When you cover a team, and I just finished my 10th season covering The Broncos, you learn you’ll be around longer than any player. Nonetheless, you develop relationships with certain players. There’s not question Anderson has become one of my favorite players to cover. And while he hasn’t won The “Darrent Williams Good Guy” Award annually voted on by local media, and given to the player who is most media-friendly, there are few people who cover the team, who wouldn’t tell you that he’s at the very top of the list of favorite players to talk to, and not just now, ever.
I sat and had a great conversation for my “Peel The Onion” Podcast last Spring. I urge you to listen to it and learn more about Anderson, where he comes from, and what motivates him. In the hour-long chat, he said, “you guys are my friends,” and mentioned me, Altitude’s Vic Lombardi and 9News’ Mike Klis. Because, as he explained, we talked to him when he was a nobody. Well, he’s now a somebody.
I have a 9-year old stepson who loves The Broncos. He always wants a new jersey every season. After 2 years of Manning jerseys, I bought him a C.J. Anderson jersey.
I’m firmly convinced he has a career in talk radio when he hangs up his helmet and shoulder pads. But thanks to a new deal, that won’t be for a while, and for those of us who are around the team every day, it’ll be a pleasure to cover C.J. Anderson for another four years.
