Ex-Patriots Lineman Joins AFC Rival Ahead of Week 4

Amidst struggles on the New England Patriots offensive line, one former Patriot offensive lineman is signing with an AFC rival. Tackle Calvin Anderson has agreed to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

As mentioned by Mike Garafolo, the Steelers were looking for reinforcements on their offensive line following a knee injury to rookie first-round pick Troy Fautanu. Fatanau's injury is expected to be season-ending.

Anderson signed a two-year deal with the Patriots in March 2023 and was expected to compete for a starting tackle position, but was placed on the non-football injury list and spent much of the offseason mysteriously absent. It wasn't until this past May that it was revealed that Anderson had been hospitalized after contracting Malaria while on a philanthropic trip to Nigeria. Doctors had initially given him a 50-50 chance of survival.

Courageously overcoming a life-threatening disease, Anderson played 100 percent of New England's offensive snaps in Weeks 1 and 2 of the 2023 season. Despite this, he would not play an offensive snap again for the Patriots in 2023.

Anderson had to battle through another scary medical event later in the season when he was diagnosed with a heart contusion after taking a hit to the chest during practice. He was placed on injured reserve on Nov. 3. He posted an inspirational video about his health struggles to his Instagram in May.

The 28-year-old was placed on IR by New England on Aug. 23 and released on Aug. 30.

Anderson played four seasons at Rice before joining the Texas Longhorns as a graduate transfer. The Texas native was undrafted in 2019. Anderson spent his first offseason on both the Patriots and New York Jets preseason squads before landing a 53-man roster spot with the Denver Broncos, where the tackle would play three seasons.

Hopefully, with Anderson's health in order after several scary incidents, better days are ahead for him.

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