Stephen Anderson NFL Fantasy Profiles

Headed to New England

Anderson has joined the Patriots' practice squad, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

Analysis: Anderson, who was let go by the Texans last Friday, joins the Patriots as the team's season opener against his former team approaches. Aside from potentially offering insight into some of Houston's tendencies on offense, the 25-year-old will bolster the Patriots' tight end depth behind Rob Gronkowski. Anderson logged 25 catches for 342 yards and a TD in 15 games last year.

Let go by Houston

Anderson was waived by the Texans on Friday, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Analysis: Anderson, despite setting career highs in catches (25), yards (342) and snaps (441) with the Texans in 2017, was unable to secure a spot on the Texans' 53-man roster. Houston drafted a pair of tight ends in the 2018 NFL Draft -- Jordan Akins (third round) and Jordan Thomas (sixth round) -- and the team seems confident enough in its rookies to back up starter Ryan Griffin. Anderson will become an unrestricted free agent if he goes unclaimed on waivers.

Anderson will be challenged to be the top backup to Ryan Griffin at tight end, Jon McClain of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Analysis: The Texans drafted a pair tight ends -- Jordan Akins in the third round and Jordan Thomas in the sixth -- so the team is certainly looking closely at the position. Houston had good production out of their tight ends in 2016, but injuries limited their impact in 2017. Anderson had a run as the starter late in the season, but saw his snaps diminish each week. Blocking has been a weakness and if Anderson can't protect Deshaun Watson, his spot as the backup is susceptible to a challenge by either…read more

Anderson finished the 2017 season with career highs in catches (25), targets (52), yards (342) and snaps (441).

Analysis: Concussion issues for Ryan Griffin and C.J. Fiedorowicz led to Anderson being the lone healthy tight end over the final five games of the season. That jacked up his offensive snaps, but he was unable to make an impact with the opportunity. Some of that had to do with inferior quarterback play, but his snap count decreased in each successive game, going from a season high of 68 in Week 13 to bottoming out at 22 in Week 17. His strength is receiving, so with sketchy quarterback play, Anderson was…read more

Anderson was targeted twice and held without a catch in Monday's 34-6 loss to the Steelers.

Analysis: That's two consecutive games without a catch for Anderson, whose snap count has steadily decreased since he became the lead tight end four weeks ago. He's not the best of blockers, so the Texans often went with extra offensive linemen instead, because they relied on the running game against the Steelers' fifth-ranked passing defense. There could be more opportunities to throw Week 17 against Indianapolis' 30th-ranked passing defense, but there's little confidence that quarterback T.J. Yates can…read more

Anderson did not catch any of his three targets in Sunday's 45-7 loss to the Jaguars.

Analysis: For a third straight week, Anderson was the lone healthy tight end available, but the three targets were his fewest opportunities during that run and fourth on the team overall in Sunday's loss. He'll finish out the season as the starting tight end, but there's not much here for fantasy owners in league playoffs due to shaky quarterback play from T.J. Yates (12-for-31 passing, 48.9 quarterback rating).

Anderson caught two of six targets for 16 yards in Sunday's 26-16 loss to the 49ers.

Analysis: Anderson is the last tight end standing after Ryan Griffin and C.J. Fiedorowicz have ended up on injured reserve with concussions. The second-year tight end has been targeted 18 times (seven catches) for 95 yards and a touchdown over the last two games. He'll be the starter from here on out, but with shaky quarterback play, Anderson's an iffy proposition for Week 15 against the Jaguars' top-ranked passing defense.

Anderson is in line to start Sunday's game against San Francisco after the Texans placed C.J. Fiedorowicz (concussion) on injured reserve, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Analysis: Fiedorowicz joins Ryan Griffin (concussion) on injured reserve, leaving Anderson the expected starter Week 14 against the 49ers, the NFL's 19th-ranked pass defense (231.3 YPG). The second-year tight end, who played wide receiver at Cal with Jared Goff, turned 12 targets last week into five catches, 79 yards and a touchdown. He showed good hands on a beautiful diving catch on 4th-and-19 to extend a fourth-quarter drive. Anderson has the athleticism to be more than just a tight end.

Anderson caught five of a season-high 12 targets for 79 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 24-13 loss to the Titans.

Analysis: Anderson moved up the target pecking order when C.J. Fiedorowicz (concussion), Bruce Ellington (hamstring) and Braxton Miller (concussion) were forced to leave the game. The second-year tight end opened the season third on the depth chart, however, concussions suffered by Fiedorowicz and Ryan Griffin has resulted in Anderson being the No. 2 tight end most games. Prior to Sunday, his bests were four catches and six targets. We're still not convinced this big week is anything more than an…read more

Anderson caught one of three targets for 22 yards in Sunday's 31-21 win over Arizona.

Analysis: Anderson's lone catch came on a deep ball early in the fourth quarter that set up a D'Onta Foreman touchdown run. It was the eighth time in nine games that he was held to two catches or fewer. Anderson remains more of a special teams contributor (15 snaps on Sunday) than an offensive weapon (13 snaps on Sunday) behind starter C.J. Fiedorowicz.

Anderson caught two of three targets for 30 yards in Sunday's 33-7 loss to the Rams.

Analysis: Anderson remains an active target for the Texans, who have been dealing with concussion injuries to members of their tight end position group. C.J. Fiedorowicz returned to action Sunday, but Ryan Griffin (concussion) was inactive, leaving Anderson as the team's second tight end for the seventh time in nine games. Given the state of the Tom Savage-led offense, it's hard to believe Anderson will produce at fantasy-worthy levels.