Packers trade safety Anderson to Raiders
NFL.com wire reports
(Sept. 3, 2004) -- Green Bay traded strong safety Marques Anderson to the Oakland Raiders for two 2005 draft picks.
The Packers will get a fifth- and a sixth-round pick for Anderson, Green Bay coach and general manager Mike Sherman said.
Anderson told The Associated Press from Nashville, where the Packers were to play Tennessee in their exhibition finale, that Raiders senior personnel executive Michael Lombardi told him he'd get a chance to start because of an injury to strong safety Derrick Gibson.
"If I can pick up the system quickly, they want to see if I can start at Pittsburgh Sept. 12," Anderson said.
However, Raiders coach Norv Turner said he doesn't expect Anderson to start right away in new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan's 3-4 scheme.
"I think that would be very difficult," Turner said. "It would be hard for him to come in and play in a major role. ... But he can have an impact on our run defense."
At first, Turner expects to use Anderson in short-yardage and goal-line situations. The Raiders allowed a league-worst 156.9 yards per game on the ground last season.
Gibson dislocated his right shoulder in Oakland's 28-24 exhibition victory against the St. Louis Rams on Sept. 2, but the Raiders had started targeting Anderson as someone they wanted more than a week ago.
"We've been looking," said Turner, who was asked by owner Al Davis to watch film on Anderson. "Marques Anderson is physical, a very good tackler, and he's a guy we've had in our sights really for the last week to 10 days.
"Obviously, the timing of it with Derrick, it was something we needed."
Gibson's status is still unclear. He could need surgery right way, which would mean he'd be sidelined at least eight weeks, Turner said. The Raiders hadn't decided whether to place Gibson on injured reserve when they have to cut their roster down from 65 to 53 players Sept. 5.
"It's disappointing because of the way Derrick was playing and working," Turner said. "We've got to overcome it, and we're capable of overcoming it."
Anderson was going to be a backup again in Green Bay, where he lost out to free agent Mark Roman during a training-camp competition for the starting safety job opposite Darren Sharper.
"I've enjoyed my time with the Packers, but I look at Oakland as an opportunity to show what I can do," Anderson said. "I'm exited. I'll be in California, close to home and I'm ready to roll."
Anderson was a third-round draft pick out of UCLA and started 11 games in 2002 and seven last year, plus both of the Packers' playoff games. He spent the latter part of last season as the starting strong safety after a pair of injuries sidelined Antuan Edwards, who had beaten him out for the job in training camp.
Anderson has career totals of 139 tackles, 96 of them solo, five interceptions and four fumble recoveries in 30 career games. In three playoff games, he has tallied 18 tackles and one sack.
Anderson returned two interceptions for touchdowns his rookie year, when he was named the team's defensive rookie of the year and three times won the NFL's weekly defensive rookie of the week honors.
"I always looked at myself as a starter," he said. "I always prepared as a starter and I think with Green Bay giving me (18 starts) it really matured me fast in the league. Now, I have the opportunity in Oakland to solidify myself as the starting safety."
Anderson said he leaves with no hard feelings.
"It's professional. Sooner or later, everything will work itself out," he said. "This might not have been my time in Green Bay, but I'm a football player and I play football. I love the players, the coaching staff, the organization in Green Bay. But I'm going from one heavy traditional team to another. No hard feelings at all."
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