The Arizona Cardinals acquired wide receiver Robbie Anderson on Monday, a day after wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown suffered a foot injury that could end his season.
Brown suffered a potential season-ending injury in Arizona’s 19-9 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, sources told ESPN’s Adam Sheft. Brown told reporters on Sunday that an X-ray of his foot was negative and that he was undergoing further tests on Monday to determine the extent of the injury, the source said.
Brown, acquired by the Cardinals from the Baltimore Ravens in this year’s NFL draft, has 43 receptions for 485 yards and three touchdowns in six games this season.
The Cardinals said in a statement that they acquired Anderson for undisclosed draft compensation. Sources told Schefter that the Panthers will receive a sixth-round pick in 2024 and a seventh-round pick in 2025.
The trade came a day after Anderson was kicked out of the game by Panthers interim coach Steve Wilks after a sideline argument with his position coach.
“No one is stronger than the team,” Wilkes said Sunday after taking over from Matt Ruler, who was fired last Monday, after a 24-10 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. “I don’t focus on one person.”
Anderson had a shout-out with Panthers receivers coach Joe Daley late in the first half and opened the second half with a stationary bike in a baseball cap. Late in the third quarter, Anderson sat alone on the cooler while the rest of the offensive linemen talked strategy on the sidelines.
Then, late in the third quarter, with the Panthers trailing 17-10 and not trailing for the first time since the first quarter, Anderson and Daly traded again. Wilkes stepped in and sent Anderson to the locker room.
Anderson said he “doesn’t know” why he was sent to the locker room. Daly was unavailable for comment, but Anderson chose to speak with reporters after a meeting with general manager Scott Fitler.
“I’m really confused,” Anderson said. “I want to play. I’ve never had anyone yelling at me to quit. So I’m really confused and frustrated. I should play. I don’t see anyone who is a real competitor, that knows the value they bring and doesn’t care. There’s real enthusiasm in the game and if they didn’t do anything wrong and were told not to do something or be taken away, that’s ok.”
Anderson joined a Cardinals team that fell 2-4 in Sunday’s loss. Star receiver DeAndre Hopkins was suspended for six games this week for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs, while the team’s offense struggled without him.
The Cardinals were tied for second-lowest on Sunday with nine points scored by head coach Cliff Kingsbury. The Cardinals have yet to score 30 points this season and have reached 400 yards in just one game. Quarterback Kyler Murray said after the game Sunday that Arizona’s offense hasn’t been this bad since his rookie season.
“That was the last time s—‘s felt so hard,” he said. “We just feel like it’s tough out there right now. Tough. That’s how it feels. A lot of it is self-inflicted, put it on ourselves. Gotta get better.”
Anderson was brought to Carolina in 2020 by Ruhr after four seasons with the New York Jets, where he played for him at Temple. His career seemed to be resurrected when he had a career-high 95 catches for 1,096 yards that season.
He got a two-year, $29.5 million extension through the 2021 season until 2023, and then he only had 53 catches for 519 yards.
Anderson didn’t catch the ball on Sunday. He entered the game with 13 catches for 206 yards — 75 of which came on Baker Mayfield’s touchdown pass in the opener against the Cleveland Browns.
The Cardinals will take Anderson’s $575,000 salary for the rest of the year, while the Panthers, who restructured their contracts in March, will take a $20 million dead-cap blow this season and next.
ESPN’s David Newton and Josh Weinfuss contributed to this report.