Patriots 90-Man Roster Spotlight: Calvin Anderson

The New England Patriots can have up to 90 players under contract during the offseason. Patriots Football Now will profile all 90 players over the upcoming weeks. Today’s featured player is offensive tackle Calvin Anderson.

Calvin Anderson

Anderson began his college career at Rice. He played three seasons for the Owls, appearing in 34 games. He transferred to Texas for the 2018 season and started all 14 games for the Longhorns. Anderson played over 3,500 career college snaps.

Nobody selected Anderson in the 2019 NFL Draft. He signed as a UDFA with the Patriots on May 13, 2019, but was waived a day later. Anderson spent the 2019 season on the practice squads of the Jets and then the Denver Broncos but did not appear in any NFL games. He made his NFL debut for the Broncos in 2020.

Anderson played in all 16 games for Denver in 2020, starting twice. Over his three seasons with the Broncos (2020 to 2022), he played in 41 games with 12 starts. He played 172 offensive snaps in 2021, was called for no penalties, and earned a solid 79.5 pass blocking grade from Pro Football Focus. It helped earn him a career-high 439 offensive snaps in 2022 (seven starts). Anderson’s overall PFF grade dipped to 65.0.

Also Read – Training Camp Competition: New England’s Offensive Line

New England signed Calvin Anderson as a free agent in 2023. He was expected to compete for the starting right tackle job, opposite Trent Brown. However, an undisclosed (at the time) illness prevented Anderson from playing during preseason. The team traded for offensive linemen Vederian Lowe and Tyrone Wheatley Jr. just before the start of the season. Anderson ended up being activated and included on the initial 53-man roster.

Calvin Anderson struggled in his lone season with the Patriots. He played in five games, including starting the first two games of the season. It was a tall task after missing camp and recovering from his illness. He played 100% of the offensive snaps in both games. Anderson allowed nine pressures and a sack. He did not play another offensive snap the rest of the 2023 season.

Pro Football Focus gave Anderson a 44.6 grade for his performance last season. Anything below 60.0 is not deemed worthy of a roster spot.

Contract Status

Calvin Anderson has one-year remaining on his contract with the New England Patriots. He renegotiated his contract during the offseason, reducing his cap number to $2.605 million.

Anderson began training camp with the offensive line’s first unit at right tackle. By the end of the week, rookie Caedan Wallace moved into the rotation with the starting group. Wallace played on the left with Chukwuma Okorafor moving over to the right.

If Anderson does not earn a starting job in camp, he should still stick on the Patriots 53-man roster with a decent showing. Wallace and Okorafor appear to be roster locks. That leaves Calvin Anderson battling the likes of Lowe, Wheatley, and Henry to stick as a third tackle, assuming Mike Onwenu remains at guard.

Anderson revealed earlier this offseason that a diagnosis of malaria contracted on a trip to Africa, is what limited him last summer. He awoke with a 104.5-degree temperature and had to be rushed to the hospital. Once recovered and back in the swing of football season, he experienced a freak accident that resulted in a heart contusion. This kept him inactive for the final 11 games of the season.

Fortunately, it appears Calvin Anderson is over the health scares that held him back a year ago. Whether he earns a starting spot remains to be seen. He is likely to land on the New England Patriots 53-man roster to start the season regardless. Heading into a contract year, Anderson has a lot at stake, but he’s proven he can overcome adversity. Battling for an NFL roster spot should seem simple by comparison after his brutal year on and off the field in 2023.