Robbie Anderson blames New York Jets for ruining Sam Darnold

Many saw Robbie Anderson as one of the few bright spots in the Sam Darnold-led New York Jets. With both the wide receiver and the quarterback on their second team, the former defended the latter against criticism against the quarterback.

Ultimately, he blamed his former team for mismanaging the player, which led to his downfall with the organization.

Speaking on the I Am Athlete podcast, the wide receiver claimed that letting the quarterback sit initially would have helped him a lot in the long run. Here's how he put it:

"I will say this with Sam Darnold. I feel like his development was all messed up coming into the league. Look at Pat and look at Lamar. They didn’t play right away. I don't feel like Sam should have played right away."

He went on, claiming that it "didn't feel right" being around the coaches and the quarterback:

"That's just how I feel. His career got jumpstarted the wrong way. I feel like [since I was] in the building with the coaches, it wasn't right. In his defense, I don't feel like he was developed 100%."

Robbie Anderson's career with Sam Darnold

Robbie Anderson

According to Pro Football Reference, Robbie Anderson was drafted by the New York Jets in 2016. In his first two years, he quickly became one of the most reliable players in the team.

While he didn't eclipse 1,000 yards in either season, he nearly cracked the milestone in his second year when he went from around 600 yards to 941.

At the time, he was seen as a budding receiver for the team. Sam Darnold joined the team in 2018 which was to be Anderson's third season. In 2018 and 2019, the wide receiver earned roughly 1,500 total yards and 11 total touchdowns. However, after the 2019 season, the wide receiver went to Carolina and left Darnold behind.

Darnold continued on to go 2-10 in 2020, which became his final year with the team. Meanwhile, the wide receiver enjoyed his only 1,000-yard season with his new team. in 2021, the wide receiver and the quarterback were reunited, but the wide receiver had the lowest output of his career.

The quarterback started 3-0 with the team, but hit a wall and then suffered an injury. In total, he went 4-7 with the team and now finds himself fighting for his job with Baker Mayfield. Who will Anderson catch passes from in 2022?

If using any of the above quotes, please credit the I Am Athlete Podcast and H/T Sportskeeda.