$25.2 Million Jets Free Agency Bust Retires From NFL After 9 Seasons

Heavy on Jets

An infamous former member of the New York Jets has hung up his cleats.

Veteran defensive lineman Henry Anderson announced on his Instagram page that he is retiring from the NFL after nine seasons.

“Thank you football! Forever grateful to this incredible game for all the lessons, memories, and relationships that will last a lifetime. Excited for the next chapter,” Anderson wrote.

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Anderson Won’t Be Remembered Fondly for His Time With the Jets

The 33-year-old spent his nine-year professional career with four different NFL teams. He started with the Indianapolis Colts (three seasons), then was traded to the Jets (three seasons), spent a year with the New England Patriots (2021), and then played his final two seasons with the Carolina Panthers.

In 2018, a new regime took over the Colts, which included a defensive schematic shift from a 3-4 front to a 4-3. That made Anderson expendable and the Jets took a chance on him by sending over a seventh-round draft choice to Indy.

The former Stanford product had a career year in a contract season with the Jets in 2018. He racked up seven sacks, seven tackles for loss, and 16 quarterback hits. All of those stats were career highs.

So the Jets rewarded him with a monster three-year deal for $25.2 million, including $17 million in total guarantees.

The Jets paid him for what he did in the past, not for what he could do in the future. Anderson quickly flamed out with the Jets and was cut before the end of his contract.

In his final two seasons with the green and white, he registered only 1.5 sacks and seven tackles for loss combined. That measly sack total ended up being the last sacks of his NFL career because of an array of injuries. Anderson last played in the NFL back in 2023 but he officially announced his retirement from the NFL in December of 2024.

Interestingly enough, the seventh-round pick the Jets sent to the Colts became linebacker Zaire Franklin.

The former Syracuse product made the 53-man roster for the Colts as a reserve player, but he eventually transformed into a full-time starter.

Franklin has appeared in 111 games and has made 61 starts. During his seven seasons in the pros, Franklin has recorded seven forced fumbles, seven sacks, and over 575 tackles.

This offseason, Franklin signed a lucrative three-year contract extension worth over $31.2 million.

Some Nostalgic Jets Photos

In Anderson’s farewell post on social media, he included seven photos. Four of the seven photos were of him in a Jets uniform.

Anderson had a photo from practice of him and Quinnen Williams talking shop on the sideline. They were teammates for Williams’ first two seasons in the National Football League.

He also included another photo celebrating with his then-teammate Leonard Williams who he spent two seasons with. Williams was traded in 2019 from the Jets to the crosstown rival New York Giants.

The final photo he posted was him interacting with then-Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers after a play during a Jets game.