A little more than a month ago, Joe Anderson was standing outside an NFL facility holding a cardboard sign pleading for a shot.
Anderson, who played college football at Texas Southern, reportedly drove to the Houston Texans practice facility carrying a sign that read, “Not homeless. But starving for success.”
“Most people won’t do something like that because they don’t want to be talked about,” he told For The Win earlier this month. “What will people back home say? ‘Oh he was in the league, now he’s not.’ You shouldn’t be worried about what people think.”
Anderson, 27, signed a rookie free-agent deal with the Chicago Bears in 2012, spent two years there before having a brief stint with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2014.
After speaking with his agent, former NFL player Damarius Bilbo, Anderson signed with the New York Jets.
“Glory to God!” wrote Anderson in a text message. “God is amazing.”
“Most people say ‘whatever it takes’ when they’re in position. Oh whatever it takes? I’ll do whatever it takes,” he said. “When you’re really at the bottom, you’ve always been doubted you’re whole life, are you really willing to do whatever it takes to let your dreams unfold completely?”
Anderson totaled 154 catches for 2,010 yards and 13 touchdowns at Texas Southern. In his senior season, Anderson had 47 receptions for 638 yards and four touchdowns.
“The SWAC has a lot of talent, but sometimes small school guys get overlooked,” Anderson told HBCUSports in 2012. “It makes me work harder. It makes me hungry,”
