Signing with the Raiders gives running back C.J. Anderson a chance to get some more work in a season that saw him play a very limited role with the Panthers before they released him almost a month ago.
It also gives him a chance to play for the team he grew up rooting for. Anderson grew up in Vallejo, California and his mom would wear a Raiders jacket over his Broncos jersey while attending games between the teams when Anderson played in Denver.
Anderson referenced Marshawn Lynch making a similar move to come back home while discussing what joining the Raiders means to him.
“Just like ‘Money,’ there’s a bunch of kids who see it and look up,” Anderson said, via the San Francisco Chronicle. “There’s a bunch of kids who look up and get excited that you’re back home playing for the hometown team. That means a lot. You get some of those kids in the inner city that we’re trying to [show] that you have an opportunity to do anything. And if you can do it at home, why not?”
The Raiders cited Doug Martin’s knee injury as a reason why they reached out to Anderson, but Martin was a full participant in practice on Wednesday so it’s not clear how the work will be divvied up in Anderson’s first game with his hometown team.