Carolina Panthers Kick Star Player out of Game After Arguing With Coaches

By Brian Jones

The Carolina Panthers decided to dismiss a star player after getting into an argument with an assistant coach. During the game against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, wide receiver Robbie Anderson was seen arguing with wide receivers coach Joe Dailey multiple times, according to NFL.com. Before the start of the fourth quarter, interim head coach Steve Wilks calmed Dailey down before kicking Anderson out of the game. This incident occurred six days after the Panthers, who lost to the Rams on Sunday, fired head coach Matt Rhule due to the poor start to the season. 

"My job is, I'm here to do all I can to help us win," Anderson told reporters after the game. "It's third down. I'm being taken out the game. You know, I don't think I should be OK with that. So, I made a comment. 'It's the money down. Why am I being taken out?' And that's that." When Anderson left the game, he did not have a reception on 38 snaps. Coming into the contest, Anderson had 13 receptions for 206 yards and one touchdown. 

When Wilks was asked about Anderson, he kept the focus on the game and the team. "I'm going to say this. No one is bigger than the team," Wilks said.  "And I'm not going to focus and put a lot of attention on one individual. We can talk about the game. We can talk about situations within the game. We can talk about the things we're going to do moving forward. But I'm not putting a lot of energy into one individual."

Anderson joined the Panthers in 2020 after spending his four seasons with the New York Jets. He had a career year with the Panthers in 2020, catching 95 passes for 1,096 yards and three touchdowns. But Anderson's number dropped off dramatically in 2021, catching just 53 passes for 519 yards but did have five touchdown receptions.

The incident on Sunday led the Panthers to trade Anderson to the Arizona Cardinals, who need a wide receiver after Marquise Brown went down with an injury. According to NFL.com, the Cardinals will pay Anderson $690,000 of the prorated portion of his base salary after the Panthers converted much of his pay into a signing bonus. 

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