Robbie Anderson sent out a tweet yesterday that he was thinking about retiring. He deleted it, so he's presumably changed his mind, as with the spelling of his name (from Robby to Robbie). Two years of working with Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Darnold under Matt Rhule can apparently have one contemplating a career change.

I don't know what prompted Anderson's tweet; could be anything really. What I do know is that his on-field career in Carolina has gone a lot different than what it had been like with the Jets. It's weird that the Panthers brought in one of the league's better big-play threats and turned him into a possession receiver.

As a starter for three seasons with the Jets, Anderson was a downfield weapon. Among all wide receivers who averaged at least 50 receptions in those seasons, Anderson's 15.0 yards per reception was a top-10 figure. In two of those years he was working with Darnold, too, so it's not as if he doesn't currently have a quarterback who could get that kind of production out of him.

WIDE RECEIVER YARDS PER RECEPTION, 2017-2019 (TOP 20)
PlayerGRecYdsY/RTD
Kenny Golladay42163273016.719
Mike Evans44224368216.421
Tyreek Hill43220352216.026
T.Y. Hilton40178273715.415
Brandin Cooks46187286915.314
Marvin Jones38158238815.123
Chris Godwin46179270015.117
Julio Jones47300451515.117
Robby Anderson46165247215.018
DeVante Parker40153218114.311
Amari Cooper45202287414.222
Tyler Lockett48184257714.020
Antonio Brown30209288613.825
JuJu Smith-Schuster42211289513.717
Odell Beckham Jr.32176238913.613
Robert Woods43232313413.513
Cooper Kupp39196259613.221
Adam Thielen42234306713.119
Stefon Diggs44229300013.123
DeAndre Hopkins46315411513.131

The last two years in Carolina, with a couple of different coordinators and Bridgewater and Darnold at quarterback, things have changed. Anderson in those two years has been running much shorter routes, and averaged just 10.9 yards per reception. That's at the other end of the spectrum -- bottom-10 production for the position in those two seasons.

WIDE RECEIVER YARDS PER RECEPTION, 2020-2021 (BOTTOM 20)
PlayerGRecYdsY/RTD
Marquise Brown32149177711.914
Chris Godwin26163194311.912
Darnell Mooney33142168611.98
Allen Robinson28140166011.97
Adam Thielen28141165111.724
Tyler Boyd31146166911.49
Jarvis Landry27124141011.45
Russell Gage30138155611.38
Jakobi Meyers31142159511.22
Robert Woods25135149211.110
Robby Anderson33148161510.98
Diontae Johnson31195208410.715
Hunter Renfrow33159169410.711
Jamison Crowder24110114610.48
Keenan Allen30206213010.314
Cole Beasley31164166010.15
Laviska Shenault Jr.30121121910.15
Sterling Shepard19102102210.04
Jaylen Waddle1610410159.86
JuJu Smith-Schuster211129608.69

It's a new season, but there's little reason to think the Panthers will be able to unlock the potential that made Anderson a dangerous player with the Jets. For some inexplicable reason they've decided to hire a recognizable coaching name rather than someone with any track record of success or potential to have some new or innovative ideas. The new offensive coordinator is Ben McAdoo, who was a terrible head coach with the Giants prior to being a terrible quarterbacks coach with the Jaguars and then a consultant (whatever that means) with the Cowboys. Get a coaching job in the NFL one time, it seems, and there will always be a franchise willing to hire you again.

So Anderson isn't retiring, today, but it's apparently in the back of his mind. Let's see if he gets through training camp and the preseason. In any case, probably best to steer clear of this offense as much as possible in 2022, until they blow things up and start over in 2023.

--Andy Richardson