Zaire Anderson (born August 18, 1992) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

who played for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

College career

Anderson started 18 of 28 games in three seasons at Nebraska after beginning his college career at Riverside City College. He registered 159 tackles (77 solo), five sacks, six passes defensed, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He led the Cornhuskers with 103 tackles in addition to recording two sacks, five passes defensed, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries as a senior, earning honorable-mention All-Big Ten Conference honors. Anderson played 12 games (5 starts) as a junior, finishing the season with 52 tackles (28 solo), three sacks, and one pass defensed. He recorded 95 tackles, 6.5 sacks and two passes defensed in 2011 at Riverside City College. Anderson was named a JC Gridwire All-American and the National Division East Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2010 after finishing the season with 92 tackles, 17 tackles for a loss and nine sacks.

Professional career

2015 season

Anderson was signed by the Broncos as an undrafted free agent on May 2, 2015. He was waived on September 5, 2015 and was signed to the Broncos'

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

on September 7, where he spent his entire rookie season. On February 7, 2016, Anderson was part of the Broncos team that won Super Bowl 50. In the game, the Broncos defeated the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

by a score of 24–10. After the season, Anderson was signed by Denver to a future contract on February 10, 2016.

2016 season

Anderson made his NFL debut vs. the

in a Super Bowl 50 rematch on September 8, 2016. He played in all 16 games (1 start), totaling seven tackles (4 solo) on defense to go along with seven tackles and one forced fumble on special teams. He made his first career start vs. the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

on January 1, 2017.

2017 season

In 2017, Anderson recorded 20 tackles (15 solo) and three special-teams stops in 16 games (2 starts). In Week 17 of the 2017 season, Anderson recovered a fumble by Chiefs' fullback

Anthony Sherman Anthony Michael Sherman (born December 11, 1988) is a former American football fullback. He spent the majority of his career with the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the fifth ...

and returned it 38 yards for the touchdown.

2018 season

On September 1, 2018, Anderson was waived by the Broncos.

Personal life

Anderson played prep ball at Frankford High School in Philadelphia, where he was named a first-team All-Philadelphia Public selection his senior season. Anderson earned his degree in child, youth and family sciences in 2014 and played his senior season as a graduate student at Nebraska.

References

External links

* Living people 1992 births Players of American football from Philadelphia American football linebackers Nebraska Cornhuskers football players Denver Broncos players {{linebacker-1990s-stub