I suppose there's a time when your favorite player becomes less. For as long as he's been here, Willie Anderson has been far and above my favorite. I supported his contract extension -- though a sane man would obviously (and justifiably so) question it. So when "the man" returned, I was stoked.
After earning four-straight Pro Bowl bids (2003-2006) and three first-team all-pro awards (2004-2006), Willie Anderson waltzes into Paul Brown Stadium this week as the team's backup right tackle to $7.455 million man, Stacy Andrews.
"We told Willie we're not sure where he is with things and with Stacy kind of finished the year there, we'll see what happens," Lewis said. "We'll be able to fit all the pieces together as we see how we go.
If told this time last year that Willie Anderson was to be the "odd man out", I'd be shocked. Today, I understand the reasoning. Anderson has a lot of unknowns this year and the team doesn't want to invest in a soon-to-be 33-year old offensive linemen coming off an unlikely (in his case) history of injury.
Still, if the Bengals put Anderson as the team's backup, the Bengals have insta-awesome depth at offensive line.