Panthers' Anderson downplays retirement tweet: 'Just thinking out loud'
Carolina Panthers wide receiver Robbie Anderson said Wednesday that he never really considered calling it a career despite stating in a since-deleted tweet that he was thinking about retiring last week.
"I was just thinking out loud, but I wasn't really that serious," Anderson said Wednesday, according to Jonathan M. Alexander of The Charlotte Observer.
Reporters then asked Anderson if he still wants to be a Panther.
"I'm here, right?" Anderson said, per ESPN's Kimberley A. Martin.
Panthers head coach Matt Rhule didn't discuss Anderson's tweet on Wednesday but said he expects Anderson to be an important weapon for the team, which hired new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo this season.
"I think in this offense, Robbie will have a ton of production," Rhule said, according to ESPN's David Newton.
"I believe this offense is perfect for him."
Rhule added that Anderson didn't practice Wednesday after reporting to the trainers "that he didn't think he could go physically," according to The Athletic's Joe Person.
Anderson, who's entering his third season with the Panthers, is coming off a down year. He caught only 53 passes for 519 yards in 17 games in 2021, down from 95 receptions and 1,096 yards in 2020.
The 29-year-old previously spent his first four NFL seasons with the New York Jets.