Derek Anderson

Bryce Young’s got big shoes to fill stepping into Derek Anderson’s old Panthers gig, where DA went 2-5 as starter but slung 10,878 yards and 60 TDs career-wide, peaking with that wild 5-TD explosion vs. Cincy in ’07. Young’s quick release and smarts echo Anderson’s cannon arm, but he’ll need DA’s gunslinger grit to match that 10-5 Browns heater—Panthers fans still whisper about it.

Nah, Derek Anderson’s not in Canton—zero bust waiting there despite that lone Pro Bowl nod as a Brady injury fill-in and a Most Improved Player tag after his 29-TD ’07 breakout. With 60 TDs against 64 picks and a 70.4 rating over 13 seasons, he was a sixth-round surprise who lit up scoreboards but never Hall-level consistent.

As of early 2026, Derek Anderson’s chilling out of the spotlight, no big broadcasting gigs or charity headlines popping—last we saw, he wrapped his NFL days as a backup with the Bills in 2019. Guy’s probably coaching youth ball or grilling burgers in Oregon, savoring that one magical Browns year like a ’07 tattoo nobody else gets.

Anderson’s bazooka arm and 6’6” frame would feast in today’s pass-happy NFL—think those deep bombs to Kellen Winslow thriving under no-touch rules, maybe a poor man’s Geno Smith. His 54% completion and 70.4 rating scream turnover trouble in this RPO era, but he’d carve secondaries like that 51-45 Bengals thriller.

Jake Delhomme owned the Panthers soul with a 39.42 rating and NFC Championship magic, while Derek Anderson’s 70.4 mark across stints there felt more like a rental—solid yards but pick-prone chaos. Delhomme was the steady road warrior; DA, the boom-or-bust cannon who torched Cincy for five scores but faded fast.