C.J. Anderson will have to find a new team. The Denver Broncos will release the running back, per a report from CBS NFL Insider Jason La Canfora.
The Broncos are releasing RB CJ Anderson
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) April 16, 2018
The Broncos tried to find a trade for Anderson throughout the offseason, even coming close to trading him to the Dolphins at one point. After failing to find a deal, they will release him instead.
CJ Anderson spent the entire offseason in limbo, as trade bait, with the chance of being released. And that's ultimately what's happened: Released at the start of the offseason program.
— Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) April 16, 2018
Anderson is coming off the best volume season of his career, during which he ran for over 1,000 yards and totaled four touchdowns. His yards-per-carry average was just 4.1, however, and his production over the last couple years did not entirely justify the cap hit he would have carried in 2018. As ESPN's Bill Barnwell noted, the path the Broncos took to get to this point with Anderson was rather interesting.
C.J. Anderson timeline:
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) April 16, 2018
- Loses his job in 2015 before eventually winning it back
- Broncos tender him with no compensation attached to save $700k
- Dolphins give CJ an offer sheet with $10m gtd
- Broncos match, Dolphins end up giving job to Jay Ajayi
- CJ is a guy for $5m/year pic.twitter.com/Kvs9erlV5f
By releasing him now, the Broncos save $4.5 million on their books this season. Their running back depth chart is now fairly thin, and it would be reasonable to expect them to add a back during the draft next week.
