Former Jets quarterback and current WFAN sports talker Boomer Esiason claimed on the air that Robby Anderson left twice as much money on the table before signing with the Panthers.
And after Anderson claimed “fake news,” Esiason is doubling down.
Esiason said he was told the Jets had offered Anderson a four-year, $40 million contract. Anderson eventually signed a two-year, $20 million deal with the Panthers, which included $12 million guaranteed.
“False news y’all need to better jobs reporting and putting out fake news too ppl,” Anderson tweeted, via SNY, though at some point later he deleted the tweet.
Thursday morning, Esiason defended his initial report.
“I have a great source. My source is always accurate. I’m not backing off anything that I said,” he said. “The one thing that I said yesterday that in my eyes remains very true [is] that Robby decided to play for his old Temple coach, Matt Rhule. They have that new offensive coordinator down there, Joe [Brady]. He signed a two-year deal to bet on himself to get back to free agency. I don’t want to say it’s a gutsy move; I think it’s a confident move by Robby Anderson.
“Whether or not he decided to do it that way as opposed to staying with the Jets for four years, that’s his decision. I give him a lot of credit for making that decision, but I know what I know. I know what I was told. . . . He made a business decision, and hopefully it’ll work out for him. But I know what I know, and I was just telling you what I was told, and I stand by it.”
Whether playing with Rhule, Brady, and Teddy Bridgewater in Carolina turns out to be better than staying with Adam Gase and Sam Darnold in New York remains to be seen.
The Jets responded quickly by signing Breshad Perriman to a one-year deal, though their receiving group still needs plenty of help.