On Monday morning following a season-ending win, the Buffalo Bills announced that they’ve signed veteran quarterback Derek Anderson to a one-year contract extension.
Anderson signed a one-year, $1.07 million contract in 2018 with the team as Buffalo sought to add experience to a young, scuffling quarterback room. Per a report by The Associated Press’s John Wawrow, the Bills had reached out to Anderson in March about a potential signing before they settled on A.J. McCarron at the time. After joining the Bills, the 13-year veteran was ostensibly around to support the growth of Josh Allen (and Nate Peterman), but Allen’s injury and Peterman’s awful play forced Anderson into the lineup anyway.
His first starts in two years didn’t go well by any stretch of the imagination. Anderson threw three interceptions in a 37-5 beat-down by the Indianapolis Colts, and threw another interception in a 25-6 loss to the New England Patriots. He ended that game with a concussion (which would later force the team to start Matt Barkley), and the head injury sidelined Anderson for nearly two months.
As he recovered from his concussion, and Allen returned to the field, Anderson returned to the mentoring role for which he’d signed on. With Anderson and Barkley supporting Allen from the sideline, the rookie’s play saw a notable improvement in the six games after his injury compared with the six games pre-injury.
Pre-injury:
Passing: 75/139 (53.9%), 832 yards (5.99 YPA), 2 TDs, 5 INTs, 21 sacks
Rushing: 35 attempts, 155 yards, 3 TDs
Post-injury:
Passing: 94/181 (51.9%), 1242 yards (6.86 YPA), 8 TDs, 7 INTs, 7 sacks
Rushing: 54 attempts, 476 yards, 5 TDs
The Bills’ quarterback room is now filled for 2019, with the team set to build around Allen as their franchise quarterback. If Allen’s stats are any indication, Barkley and Anderson’s tutelage will help him make huge strides in year two.