Calvin Anderson, an offensive tackle for the New England Patriots, started the 2023 season on the non-football illness list due to a severe case of malaria he contracted during a trip to Africa before training camp.
He faced a critical health situation with a 104.5-degree fever and was hospitalized in Massachusetts, where doctors initially doubted his chances of survival. After four days in the hospital, Anderson recovered enough to be discharged.
Christopher Price of the Boston Globe shared Anderson’s harrowing story, including additional challenges the player faced. After recovering from malaria, Anderson returned to play every offensive snap for the Patriots in the first two weeks of the season. Although he had a solid first game, he struggled significantly in the second game against the Dolphins on Sunday Night Football, which led to him being sidelined for the next three games.
RELATED: Former Legendary NFL Wide Receiver Calls Out ‘Patriots Cheating’ Ways During Roast of Tom Brady
Later in the season, Anderson was placed on injured reserve again due to an unexplained injury, which Price later revealed was a cardiac contusion—a result of a collision during practice. Anderson described the incident, noting that despite being at rest, his heart rate was alarmingly high. A cardiologist eventually diagnosed him with a heart contusion, a rare occurrence given the frequent chest impacts linemen endure. The injury was attributed to the specific nature of the hit combined with his body position.
“They get on the sideline and I sat down, and my heartbeat wouldn’t stop. It just kept going … boom-boom-boom-boom-boom. I’m sitting there, at rest, and my heartbeat is just going,” Anderson told Price. “We ended up going and getting it checked out, and after a long period of time trying to figure out what it was, the cardiologist assessed it was a heart contusion from a hit. They didn’t really know what was causing it. But just imagine how rare this is. We get hit in the chest on every single play as an O-lineman. It just so happened that it was a combination of the position I was in and not seeing it, it caused temporary damage to my heart. Like a bruise.”
Following the publication of this story, Anderson took to Instagram to share more about his condition, with his wife, Sherée, mentioning that if he had been brought to the hospital just a few hours later, he might not have survived.
As the Patriots look ahead to the 2024 season, they’ve restructured Anderson’s contract.
This adjustment makes it financially disadvantageous for the team to release him, as doing so would result in a $2.31 million dead cap hit while only saving $300,000, according to Pro Football Talk. This restructuring effectively ensures Anderson’s spot on the roster for the upcoming season.
