Derek Anderson enjoys being a mentor for Josh Allen.
By Nick Wojton / Billswrie.usatoday.com
Derek Anderson knows his role with the Buffalo Bills and it’s one he’s accustom to.
On Tuesday, Anderson joined the Bills and the 35-year-old QB realizes his job will be to mentor a player 13 years his junior, rookie Josh Allen.
And it’s a role he’s learned to enjoy.
“I’ve seen a lot of football, I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs in my career and just be a guy that he can lean on,” Anderson said on Wednesday. “[Allen can] ask me any question. I said, ‘Bud, I’m here for you, if you need me to watch a guy or find something special or something you’re unsure of’ and things like that. Obviously, in the last seven years I was with Cam (Newton); I watched him grow. I got real happy when I watched something during the week and point something out and he would execute it. It’s fun for me.”
Anderson is entering the 15th year of his career and only three of them featured time as a starting quarterback. One was a Pro Bowl year, but he’s mainly served as a mentor. From 2011 to 2017, Anderson held that job for Newton in Carolina. During that time, Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane got a hands-on look at the way Anderson mentors a young QB as the two also were with the Panthers prior to joining the Bills.
“(Anderson) is very even-keeled in terms of playing in and playing out situations, game in and game out, week-to-week. Like I said, he’s a veteran player that’s been around both the good moments and the low moments. He’s just a steady hand that, as I said before, has a tremendous amount of wisdom baked into him from over the years in different roles,” McDermott said.
With only a few days together to this point, Anderson and Allen are still getting to know each other. Still, in that short time, Anderson’s already making an impact on the rookie.
“[Day 1 with Anderson] was awesome,” Allen said. “Seeing him get here early, lifting earlier than us and just getting to talk with him out in practice [and] after practice, just the things that he’s kind of been through, the things that he sees. He’s got a lot of experience in this league; he’s a guy that is going to help me and Nate [Peterman] out, and I’m lucky to have him.”
Anderson said he’s slowly getting to know the rookie, but he already knows him well enough for a nickname, apparently, referring to the rookie as “bud” multiple times.
“We’re getting there. I told him last night, or this morning when we were eating breakfast, ‘Bud, I didn’t even realize until last night I read an article about him and his story on ESPN or something maybe before the draft or something and that’s you!’ So I had a little bit of background on him. [He’s a] great kid, great kid. Obviously, we’ve had three days together, but we have a good room and the back and forth in there is good,” Anderson said.
Bills re-sign Marlowe
The Buffalo Bills added safety Dean Marlowe to their practice squad on Thursday morning.
Marlowe, 26, was previously on Buffalo’s practice squad and was called up to the 53-man roster last weekend. Marlowe was called up and wasn’t a backup, either.
With Micah Hyde (groin) injured, Marlowe played in every single defensive snap for the Bills in Week 5 against the Tennessee Titans in the team’s 13-12 win. In the contest, Marlowe made four tackles and defended one pass.
The Bills released offensive lineman Ruben Holcomb from the practice squad in a corresponding move.