Stephen Anderson (American Football)
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Stephen Todd Anderson Jr. (born January 30, 1993) is an American professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...
who is a free agent. He played
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
at
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
and signed with the
Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...
as an
undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
in 2016. He has also played for the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
and the
Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...
.


Early life

Anderson attended and played
high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...
for Piedmont Hills High School. He graduated from Piedmont Hills in 2011 and attended the University of California, Berkeley.


College career

Anderson attended and played college football for the University of California Golden Bears from 2011 to 2015. Anderson redshirted as a true freshman in 2011. As a redshirt freshman in 2012, he appeared in four games. In the 2013 season opener against Portland State, he had his first three career collegiate receptions for 22 yards. Overall, in the 2013 season, he had 14 receptions for 125 yards. His role in the offense expanded in 2014. On September 20, against Arizona, he had 43 receiving yards and his first collegiate touchdown. In the next game, against Colorado, he had seven receptions for 136 yards and a touchdown. In the next game at Washington State, he had five receptions for 95 yards. On October 24, in the game against Oregon at Levi's Stadium, he had 32 receiving yards and a touchdown in the loss. On November 1, against Oregon State, he had nine receptions for 117 yards. Overall, in the 2014 season, he had 46 receptions for 661 yards and five touchdowns. His production dropped in the 2015 season, but he remained as a presence in the offense. On October 10, against Utah, he had six receptions for a season-high 99 yards. In the 2015 season, he finished with 41 receptions for 474 yards and two touchdowns. Overall, he played in 37 games with 25 starts all during the last four seasons of his five campaigns with the program. He finished his career with 101 receptions for 1,260 yards and seven touchdowns. He earned both honorable mention All-Pac-12 selection of the league's coaches and Cal's Ken Cotton Award as the team's Most Courageous Player as a junior and senior.


College statistics


Professional career


Pre-draft

Anderson was one of 15 tight ends to receive an invitation to attend the
NFL combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...
. Although he primarily played wide receiver at Cal, he chose to transition to tight end. He was limited to performing the bench press, vertical jump, and broad jump due to a hamstring injury. Anderson was the lightest tight end and tied UCLA's Thomas Duarte as the shortest of the tight ends at 6'2". Among his position group at the combine, he finished first in the vertical jump (38"), fourth in the broad jump (9'11"), and tenth in the bench press (16). On March 18, 2016, Anderson opted to participate at Cal's
pro day The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...
, along with
Jared Goff Jared Thomas Goff (born October 14, 1994) is an American professional football quarterback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears, setting Pac-12 Conference single- ...
, Bryce Treggs, Daniel Lasco, Maurice Harris,
Kenny Lawler Kenneth James Lawler, Jr. (born June 25, 1994) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the seventh round of the 2016 NFL dra ...
, Trevor Davis, Kyle Kragen, Stefan McClure, Darius Powe, and two others. His performance in the 40-yard dash, 20-yard dash, and 10-yard dash would've finished first among his position group at the combine. Anderson's time in the three-cone drill would've garnered him fourth place. He also ran positional drills and caught passes for the team representatives and scouts from all 32 NFL teams. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Anderson was projected to be selected as early as the fourth to fifth round or as late as the sixth to seventh round. He was ranked as the top fullback prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.


Houston Texans


2016

Anderson went undrafted in the
2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL draft was the 81st annual draft of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...
. On April 30, 2016, the
Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...
signed Anderson as an undrafted free agent to a three-year, $1.62 million contract that includes a $5,000 signing bonus. Throughout his first training camp, he competed with Anthony Denham and Eric Tomlinson for a roster spot. Anderson received a bulk of first team reps during training camp after C. J. Fiedorowicz and Ryan Griffin missed stretches of camp due to injuries. Head coach Bill O'Brien named Anderson the Texans' third tight end, behind C. J. Fiedorowicz and Ryan Griffin, to begin the regular season. Offensive coordinator George Godsey developed a hybrid H-back role for Anderson, better utilizing his speed and receiving ability. He made his professional regular season debut in the Texans' season-opener against the
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
and caught three passes for 25 yards during the 23–14 victory. He made his first career reception at the start of the second quarter, catching a 12-yard pass from
Brock Osweiler Brock Alan Osweiler (born November 22, 1990) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils and was selecte ...
before being tackled by Bears' safety Adrian Amos. In Week 3, Anderson suffered a hamstring injury during the Texans' 27–0 loss at the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
. Unfortunately, the injured hamstring caused him to miss the next three games (Weeks 4–6). On November 13, 2016, Anderson caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Brock Osweiler, as the Texans defeated the
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...
24–21. He finished his rookie season in with a total of 11 receptions for 93 receiving yards and one touchdown in 13 games. The Houston Texans finished atop the
AFC South The American Football Conference – Southern Division or AFC South is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created before the 2002 NFL season, 200 ...
with a 9–7 record in 2016. On January 7, 2017, Anderson made his playoff debut in the Texans 24–17 AFC
Wild Card Round A wild card (also wildcard or wild-card and also known as an at-large berth or at-large bid) is an invitation to a tournament or a playoff berth awarded to a team or individual that does not qualify via an automatic bid. In some events, wildcards ...
victory over the
Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...
. They were eliminated in the Divisional Round after losing a 34–16 game to the eventual Super Bowl LI champion Patriots.


2017

He competed for a roster spot throughout
training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...
against Rashaun Allen,
Evan Baylis Evan Luke Baylis (born November 18, 1993) is an American former professional football tight end. He played college football at Oregon and was originally signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He was also a member of the ...
, and Zach Conque. He was named the Texans' third tight end on their depth chart behind Fiedorowicz and Griffin. He earned his first career start in the Texans' season-opener against the Jaguars and caught two passes for 14 yards before leaving the game after suffering a
concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...
. C. J. Fiedorowicz and Ryan Griffin also suffered concussions during the Texans' 29–7 loss. He remained in concussion protocol and was inactive for the Texans' ''
Thursday Night Football ''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to ...
'' game against the
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...
four days later. On October 8, 2017, Anderson caught two passes for a season-high 63 yards in Houston's 42–34 loss to the
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...
. Anderson became the second tight end on the Texans' depth chart after C. J. Fiedorowicz missed eight games after suffering his second concussion. On December 3, 2017, Anderson caught a season-high five passes for 79 yards and a touchdown in the Texans' 24–13 loss at the
Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...
. His first touchdown of the season came on a four-yard pass by Tom Savage in the second quarter. Overall, he finished his second professional season with 25 receptions for 342 yards and a touchdown. On September 1, 2018, Anderson was waived by the Texans.


New England Patriots

On September 6, 2018, Anderson was signed to the Patriots'
practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...
. He was promoted to the active roster on January 8, 2019. Anderson won
Super Bowl LIII Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Confe ...
after the Patriots defeated the
Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...
13–3. He was waived during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019. He was signed to the practice squad a day later. On September 9, 2019, he was released from the practice squad.


Los Angeles Chargers (first stint)

On September 11, 2019, Anderson was signed to the
Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...
practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on October 1, 2019. He played in his lone game of the 2019 season in Week 5. He was waived on October 12 and re-signed to the practice squad. He signed a
futures contract In finance, a futures contract (sometimes called futures) is a standardized legal contract to buy or sell something at a predetermined price for delivery at a specified time in the future, between parties not yet known to each other. The item tr ...
with the Chargers on December 30, 2019. In the 2020 season, Anderson appeared in 16 games. He recorded eight receptions for 106 receiving yards and mainly played on special teams. Anderson re-signed with the Chargers to a one-year contract on March 22, 2021. On the 2021 season, he had 16 receptions for 165 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.


Arizona Cardinals

On April 4, 2022, Anderson signed with the
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...
on a one-year contract. He was released during final roster cuts on August 30, but quickly re–signed with the team two days later. He appeared in 16 games in the 2022 season. He had three receptions for nine yards on the year and a majority of his playing time was on special teams.


Los Angeles Chargers (second stint)

On November 15, 2023, Anderson was signed to the Chargers practice squad. His contract expired at the end of the season and he did not sign a reserve/future contract, thus becoming a free agent.


Professional statistics


References


External links


Cal Golden Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Stephen 1993 births Living people American football tight ends American football wide receivers Arizona Cardinals players California Golden Bears football players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Los Angeles Chargers players New England Patriots players Players of American football from San Jose, California