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Calvin Anderson

Steelers Re-Sign T Calvin Anderson

April 7th, 2025 at 3:55pm CST by Adam La Rose

Calvin Anderson debuted with the Steelers in 2024, and he will remain in the fold moving forward. The veteran offensive tackle re-signed with Pittsburgh on a two-year deal Monday, per a team announcement.

Anderson began his career with the Broncos, spending three seasons in Denver. During that stretch, he made 41 appearances and 12 starts. The former undrafted free agent was with the Patriots in 2023, though he was limited to just five games played. As a result, it came as little surprise a lengthy wait in free agency ensued last offseason.

Anderson remained on the open market past the start of the 2025 campaign. After the Steelers saw first-round rookie Troy Fautanu go down with a knee injury (one which led to an IR stint and limited him to just one game), though, depth was needed. That led to an Anderson agreement being worked out in September, and the 29-year-old played in four games shortly upon arrival.

Anderson was placed on injured reserve not long after, however, and he remained unavailable for the rest of the regular season. The Rice and Texas product was activated in time for the playoffs, and he played in the Steelers’ wild-card loss. None of his five total appearances included starting duties, but Anderson clearly made a strong enough impression with Pittsburgh’s staff to remain in place for 2025 and ’26.

The offensive tackle position has been a point of emphasis for the Steelers in recent years. The team used a first-round pick on Broderick Jones in 2023, then added Fautanu during Day 1 last spring. Especially with veteran Dan Moore Jr. no longer in the picture (after he took a lucrative Titans deal in free agency), Jones is in position to move from right to left tackle next season. That will leave Fautanu to occupy the RT spot in the starting lineup, but Anderson will be an option to fill in if required.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/11/25

January 11th, 2025 at 8:19pm CST by Ely Allen

Saturday’s minor transactions and more standard gameday practice squad elevations for the wild-card round of the playoffs:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

As a member of the practice squad this year, Clifford, the second-year passer out of Penn State, was elevated twice. As a member of the active roster, he will be able to serve as Green Bay’s emergency third quarterback, which could be beneficial after starter Jordan Love was knocked out of the team’s Week 18 loss with an elbow injury on his throwing arm, and his backup, Malik Willis, was dealing with a thumb injury on his throwing hand. Both players had two full practices this week and carry no injury designation, but the team will be taking no chances.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/7/25

January 7th, 2025 at 8:06pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

A handful of playoff teams designated players for return from IR today, opening the 21-day window for activation. While there’s a chance these players are activated at some point during the postseason, they could also merely be providing the team with another body during practices.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/14/24

December 14th, 2024 at 8:47pm CST by Ely Allen

Saturday’s minor moves and standard gameday elevations:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Demercado has taken a backseat to Florida State third-round rookie Trey Benson, but he has averaged 9.3 yards per carry on 24 carries this year. Palardy will take over punting duties with Gillikin landing on injured reserve.

Jackson signed with Bills in late July, and although he was among the team’s final roster cuts he was immediately retained via a practice squad deal. This elevation means Week 15 will mark his first time spent on the active roster this season. The 36-year-old has started all but 10 of his 203 NFL games, but last season was marred by suspensions which led to his Broncos release. Jackson could suit up for Buffalo down the stretch as a gameday elevation in a bid to rebuild his stock to a degree.

With the playoffs nearly out of reach and quarterback Joe Burrow dealing with a few ailments (wrist and knee), the Bengals don’t seem to be taking any chances. Jake Browning will continue serving as the primary backup, while Woodside’s promotion will allow him to act as the emergency backup.

Adams has seen his biggest NFL roles during his time in Pittsburgh. Though he hasn’t gotten the same number of starts as he had in 2022 and 2023, he’s continued the same level of production. After missing the last four games, he’ll be looking to return to the field as early as tomorrow.

Steelers Sign OT Calvin Anderson

September 23rd, 2024 at 7:47pm CST by Ben Levine

After placing offensive tackle Troy Fautanu on injured reserve this past weekend, the Steelers have added some necessary depth at the position. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reports that the team has signed Calvin Anderson.

[RELATED: Steelers Place OT Troy Fautanu On IR]

The lineman worked out with the squad earlier today, leading to a deal. It sounds like Anderson will immediately join Pittsburgh’s 53-man roster.

A former UDFA out of Texas, Anderson had short stints with the Patriots and Jets to begin his career before finding a home in Denver. The lineman got into 41 games for the Broncos between 2020 and 2022, starting 12 of those appearances. He inked a two-year deal with the Patriots last offseason but started only two of his five appearances before he suffered a heart contusion during practice. Anderson subsequently landed on injured reserve and didn’t play again in 2023.

The 28-year-old was back on the field with the Patriots this past preseason, but he landed on injured reserve before final cuts. That would have prevented him from playing in 2024, but the Patriots later released him, paving the way for an eventual job elsewhere.

While the Steelers got some good news on Fautanu today, the team will still be stressing their OT depth moving forward. Broderick Jones will likely find himself back in the starting lineup, although the first-round pick had just been definitively replaced by Fautanu following an ugly Week 2 performance. The organization’s only other depth option was practice squad rookie Doug Nester, so the team was destined to make another move at the position.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/30/24

August 30th, 2024 at 6:58pm CST by Adam La Rose

Here are Friday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Waived: CB Eric Scott Jr.

New England Patriots

Players let go through injury settlements are open to return to their previous teams after an agreed-upon period of time. Jones could therefore return to the Cardinals’ backfield later on in 2024, after he played three games with the team last year. The 26-year-old has also seen time with the Saints and Seahawks, logging a rotational role while contributing on special teams.

Like Jones, Anderson (who missed time last year with malaria) will be able to sign with any interested team if he does not return to New England. The latter made five appearances with New England last season, starting twice. He was one of several players competing for a spot on the Patriots’ uncertain tackle depth chart until being placed on injured reserve during final roster cutdowns. A Broncos blocker from 2020-22, Anderson has 14 total starts to his name and could provide a depth option to his next team once healthy.

Patriots Set 53-Man Roster

August 27th, 2024 at 9:19pm CST by Ben Levine

The Patriots have set their first 53-man roster in a post-Bill Belichick era. The team announced the following moves:

Released:

Placed on reserve/PUP list:

Placed on reserve/NFI list:

Placed on IR:

Atonio Mafi was a fifth-round pick by the Patriots just last year, and he ended up starting five of his 17 appearances as a rookie. It wasn’t pretty for the UCLA alumni, as Pro Football Focus ultimately graded Mafi as the second-worst qualifying guard in the NFL (among 79 qualifying players).

Kevin Harris was a sixth-round pick by New England in 2022, but the running back struggled to carve out a role through his two seasons with the squad. The South Carolina product was ultimately limited to nine appearances (one start), collecting 175 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns.

Patriots Eyeing OT Depth?

August 10th, 2024 at 9:51am CST by Ben Levine

With the Patriots now out of the Brandon Aiyuk sweepstakes, the team will pivot to improving other offensive positions. According to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe, the Patriots are expected to “turn their full attention” to acquiring offensive tackle depth. The organization could consider a number of different routes as they seek reinforcement, including a trade, a veteran free agent, or an inexperienced tryout player.

[RELATED: Latest On Patriots G Cole Strange’s Knee Injury]

With Trent Brown now out of the picture, the Patriots lack experience at both offensive tackle spots. At the moment, there are four clear candidates for the two starting gigs (per Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald): Chukwuma Okorafor, Vederian Lowe, Calvin Anderson, and rookie third-round pick Caedan Wallace. One team source told Kyed that Okorafor and Lowe are likely in the lead at the moment, although Anderson was recently playing with the starters while Okorafor nursed an undisclosed injury.

As Kyed notes, Jerod Mayo is hoping to have his Week 1 starters locked in before the team’s third preseason game. So, if the Patriots plan to bring in another option at the position, the acquisition will only have a couple of weeks to make a good impression.

The current free agent market includes the likes of Donovan Smith, David Bakhtiari, D.J. Humphries, and Jason Peters. If the rebuilding Patriots intended to bring in one of these veterans, they probably would have already done so. More likely, the Patriots will continue to explore the trade market for some depth, and they could also hold out for players who shake loose at the end of the preseason (although that won’t help their starting lineup uncertainty).

Whatever combination of players the Patriots settle on for their offensive line, it’s unlikely to stick throughout the entire regular season. Former first-round guard Cole Strange will eventually return from a torn patellar tendon in his left knee. Whenever Strange comes back, the Patriots could consider moving Michael Onwenu back to offensive tackle, although the recent extension recipient has exclusively played guard throughout training camp.

Chukwuma Okorafor Likely To Start For Pats; Latest On Team’s Tackle Competitions

August 8th, 2024 at 9:47am CST by Sam Robinson

As the Patriots continue to hand big-money deals to Bill Belichick-era acquisitions, they remain thin at tackle. Plans to keep Michael Onwenu at right tackle have been scrapped — for the time being, at least — and a host of uncertain options are vying for gigs in New England.

Neither Pats tackle post is settled yet, and the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed writes four primary candidates are in the mix. The only one who appears destined to start, Chukwuma Okorafor, is not currently practicing. Okorafor has missed the past three Pats practices, but Kyed adds the longtime Steelers right tackle starter is likely to start at either left or right tackle to open the season.

After Trent Brown‘s second New England exit opened a starting job, this is quite the fluid process. The Pats, who had designs on flipping Okorafor — the Steelers’ RT starter from 2020 until his midseason benching last year — to the left side, but Kyed adds he has been since relocated back to right tackle. This would make sense, as the 27-year-old blocker has played all of two LT snaps during the 2020s.

Third-round pick Caedan Wallace practiced primarily at left tackle last week, with the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin indicating he began camp on the right side. Vederian Lowe, a 2023 trade pickup, has also operated as the Pats’ starting LT extensively. He spent five straight practices in that role recently, per Kyed, who adds a Patriots evaluator mentioned the former Vikings draftee and Okorafor being the two most consistent options at camp thus far. Continuing the confusion here, Lowe split his snaps almost evenly (236-239) at LT and RT last season.

Former Broncos swingman Calvin Anderson, who is coming off a strange 2023 that featured a malaria diagnosis, is also involved in the competition. Anderson has primarily worked at right tackle during camp, also missing time due to injury last week. A 12-game starter in Denver from 2020-22, Anderson made it back last season to play in five games and start two. All of Anderson’s 2023 snaps came at right tackle.

When the Pats re-signed Onwenu on a three-year, $57MM deal, the plan appeared to be the fifth-year blocker — who has played extensively at guard and tackle — remaining the team’s right tackle starter. Those plans changed rather quickly, and Volin adds the high-priced blocker is now locked in at right guard. Both Volin and Kyed note an Onwenu-at-tackle scenario may well be one the Patriots revisit, with the Herald reporter indicating Cole Strange‘s eventual return — from a torn left patellar tendon — could kick Onwenu back to RT and slide current left guard Sidy Sow to RG.

Strange, who has yet to live up to his first-round draft status, returning would help stabilize New England’s O-line. For now, this is quite the unsettled situation. None of the team’s options appear especially appealing, either, creating some questions about Drake Maye‘s development.

The No. 3 overall pick, whom the Pats chose rather than accept big offers from the Giants or Vikings, is currently behind Jacoby Brissett for the QB1 gig. But the Pats are giving Maye first-team work. While Brissett may well begin the season as the team’s starter, Maye will almost definitely make 2024 starts. This muddled tackle situation could threaten to hinder the North Carolina product’s progress.

Latest On Patriots’ LT Plans

July 6th, 2024 at 2:11pm CST by Ely Allen

Just after the draft, we took a quick first look at the Patriots’ position battle at left tackle. A month ago, we did a big of a deeper dive on the candidates likely to vie for the position. With Trent Brown now in Cincinnati, New England lacks a player with NFL experience on the blindside, and according to Ben Volin of The Boston Globe, the team may have already given up on one of their replacement options.

In our first look, we tabbed free agent addition Chukwuma Okorafor, third-year lineman Vederian Lowe, and rookie third-round pick Caedan Wallace as the likeliest options to take over the starting gig. The problem with this picture arises from the fact that both Okorafor and Wallace have exclusively played at right tackle in the past five years, while Lowe has only eight starts at the NFL level (four of them at left tackle).

It seemed early as if drafting Wallace out of Penn State was intended to address that left tackle job. Head coach Jerod Mayo claimed to be working Wallace and Okorafor at multiple positions while making it clear that there was no intention to move starting right tackle Michael Onwenu to the blindside. Since that time, though, Volin seems to be under the impression that the team has “already scrapped their plans to move (Wallace) to the left side” of the line, utilizing him mostly at right tackle during minicamp.

That leads us back to Okorafor who played only right tackle during a six-year tenure with the Steelers. Becoming a full-time starter after two seasons in Pittsburgh, Okorafor was benched last year after “acting out” before Broderick Jones seemed to take over the position for good. Okorafor did play his final two seasons at Western Michigan at left tackle before getting drafted in the third round, but he’s now six years removed from that experience against much lesser talent in the MAC Conference.

Lowe is another possibility after making eight starts for the team last year as an injury replacement. He split those starts between left and right tackle, but like Okorafor, he does have extensive left tackle experience from his college days with the Illini. As a trade acquisition last year, Lowe came up clutch for the Patriots when Brown was down, but asking him to take over the starting job for a full season is a lot more to ask of the third-year player.

The only other two options appear to be Calvin Anderson, a former undrafted free agent who has 14 starts under his belt in five years of NFL play, and Tyrone Wheatley, an undrafted player back in 2020 whose NFL experience consists of five special teams snaps last year. Anderson’s case is also hurt by an extensive injury history.

With Wallace now seemingly out of the running for the left tackle job, it’s seeming more and more likely that a veteran free agent addition might be necessary to, at the very least, bolster some depth at the position. Okorafor or Lowe may end up being the answer to start, but veteran contributions from players like David Bakhtiari, D.J. Humphries, Donovan Smith, or Charles Leno surely wouldn’t hurt.

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