NFL notebook: Panthers sign RB Anderson

The Carolina Panthers signed free agent running back C.J. Anderson to a one-year contract, the team announced Monday. Anderson previously played five seasons with the Denver Broncos before being released in April. Anderson rushed for a career-high 1,007 yards in 2017, when he started all 16 games for the Broncos. He also had 40 receptions for 224 yards. With the Panthers, he is expected to provides a complement to Christian McCaffrey, who has varied skills but may not be an every-down back. The Panthers released Jonathan Stewart, leaving them with Cameron Artis-Payne and Fozzy Whittaker as their other running backs. During his five-year NFL career, Anderson, 27, has 3,051 rushing yards, 20 rushing touchdowns, 103 receptions, 559 receiving yards and four touchdown catches. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2014 when he had 849 rushing yards and 324 receiving yards. --The NFL Players Association has filed a non-injury grievance and a system arbitrator case on behalf of free agent safety Eric Reid, it announced. The non-injury grievance comes on behalf of Reid against the Cincinnati Bengals as well as other clubs with whom he has spoken. The grievance arises from questions posed to Reid by Bengals owner Mike Brown in regard to whether he intends to continue to demonstrate during the national anthem. Per the NFLPA: "At least one club owner has asked pre-employment interview questions about a player's intent to demonstrate. We believe these questions are improper, given league policy." The second grievance seeks a system arbitration against the NFL and its teams regarding the league's failure to enforce the absence of a policy that mandates standing. The only rule in this regard preserves the rights of players to demonstrate during the national anthem. --The New Orleans Saints released tight end Coby Fleener after two seasons with the team, the Boston Globe reported. Fleener recorded 72 receptions for 926 yards and five touchdowns in 27 games since signing a five-year, $36 million deal with the Saints as a free agent in 2016. The 29-year-old posted a career-low single-season total in catches (22) to go along with 295 receiving yards and two scores in 11 games in 2017. He did not start any games last season, and his campaign was cut short with a trip to injured reserve due to a concussion. --Offensive lineman Zane Beadles, who has started 115 NFL games, was released by the San Francisco 49ers, the team announced. Beadles, 31, signed with the 49ers as a free agent on March 22, 2016. He started all 16 games in 2016, playing center, guard and tackle. He played in all 16 games this past season, but made only five starts, playing both guard and tackle. --The Oakland Raiders signed free agent linebacker Derrick Johnson, the club announced. Details of the contract were not disclosed, but multiple media outlets reported Johnson agreed to a one-year deal. In a corresponding move, the Raiders waived defensive back Darius Hillary, who had been signed to a futures contract by the Raiders in January after playing in one game for the Cleveland Browns in 2017. Johnson joins the Raiders after 13 seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, a longtime archrival of the Raiders. Despite tearing his left Achilles tendon for the second time in two years late in the 2016 season, the 35-year-old Johnson came back to make 71 tackles and break up seven passes in 15 games for the Chiefs last season. --Former Cleveland Browns tight end Randall Telfer was claimed by the Indianapolis Colts, the team announced. Telfer started 14 games for the Browns last season, and last week it appeared Telfer would be headed to the Kansas City Chiefs. He was traded to the Chiefs in exchange for linebacker Dadi Nicolas. But the trade was rescinded by the teams on Friday, and both players were waived. The Browns also waived tight end Jason Vander Laan, who played in four games for the Colts last season but had no receptions. --Former Green Bay Packers punter Justin Vogel was claimed by the Cleveland Browns, the Browns announced. Vogel was the Packers' punter last year and averaged 44.4 yards per punt. His net average of 41.6 yards was a single-season franchise record. He had 19 punts inside the 20-yard line and just two touchbacks. The Packers waived Vogel last week after they selected punter JK Scott in the fifth round of this year draft. The Browns also announced they waived quarterback Joel Stave, who had been signed a week ago. --Shaquem Griffin's performance at weakside linebacker made a favorable impression on Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll. Sure, it was just over three days of non-contact practices, but positives are important for the Seahawks' fifth-round pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. "He looked very comfortable, very natural," Carroll said of Griffin, via The Seattle Times. "He has a sense already for scheme and terminology. The position is the right spot for him, it looks like. We can be aggressive and use his speed." --Defensive tackle Terrell McClain is expected to visit the San Francisco 49ers on Monday, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported. McClain visited the Miami Dolphins last week in his first meeting with an NFL club since being released by the Washington Redskins on Thursday. The 29-year-old McClain was just one season removed from signing a four-year, $21 million deal with the Redskins. --The Philadelphia Eagles signed quarterback Joe Callahan to a two-year contract, the team announced. Callahan, 24, was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted rookie out of Wesley College in Delaware in 2016. He played in one game for the Packers last season, completing 5 of 7 passes for 11 yards. --Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz is keeping the season opener as a realistic target date for his return from a torn ACL and LCL. "Rehab has been great. Obviously, it's not fun. It's quite the process. It can be painful some days," Wentz said Monday on NFL Network's Good Morning Football. "But so far everything is going well. Where I'm at I'm very confident. My goal is to be ready Week 1." --Mason Rudolph isn't taking Ben Roethlisberger's recent comments personally. Roethlisberger told radio station 93.7 The Fan that he was surprised the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Rudolph in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft. The 36-year-old Roethlisberger reasoned that the Steelers could have been better served with a player who could immediately help the team and also noted that he doesn't expect Rudolph to see the field for a while. "If I was Ben, I'd probably say the same thing," Rudolph said on The NFL Network's "Path To The Draft" over the weekend. "He's a competitor. Obviously, he has a lot of confidence in himself, like I do. And, yeah, he's going to be a future Hall of Famer, and I would expect him to say that." --Former Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson was awarded a posthumous degree from Georgia Southern over the weekend. Jackson, who was a walk-on at Georgia Southern, and Uber driver Jeffrey Monroe were killed in February when a drunk driver hit them with his black Ford F-150 pickup truck while they were standing on the side of Interstate 70. Georgia Southern Football shared an emotional two-minute video on Twitter Saturday of parents Mary and Wesley Jackson receiving his posthumous degree. Wesley Jackson shouted "Georgia" as he walked off stage, with the crowd responding "Southern" in appreciation. Jackson, 26, joined the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2015. He collected 66 tackles and two sacks in 16 games with the Colts in 2016 before being placed on injured reserve by the team in September 2017. --Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan wasn't so much interested in facts and figures while addressing his new blockbuster contract as he was with time. "I think it was for both sides wanting to try and get it done and be able to have the focus on football when we got to training camp, for sure. And so, I'm happy with the timing of it," Ryan said during a Monday press conference to address his five-year, $150 million deal with $100 million guaranteed. "I think the organization is very happy with the timing of it, and certainly when we get back to training camp it's 100 percent about football and even this morning, it's 100 percent about football. I always felt confident that it was going to get done in a smooth way and in a timely manner, and I feel like it did."