Originally chosen out of Stanford in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft by Indianapolis, the Colts' horseshoe logo would turn out to be anything but lucky for defensive end Henry Anderson.
From a season-ending ACL injury in Week 9 of his rookie campaign, to hurting his other knee the next year, to suffering a bruised larynx that required surgery after nine games in his third, Anderson seemingly battled injuries from top to bottom.
Missing 19 games over his first three seasons, if there was anyone who needed a fresh start…
Which is what the Georgia native got during the third day of the 2018 draft, when the Jets traded a seventh-round pick for him.
"I'd started a bunch of games the year before, and going into the OTAs, we had a whole new coaching staff and I was down at the bottom of the depth chart," Anderson said. "So I figured they were probably going to make a move. And when I got the call from our GM that I was getting traded in New York, I was super excited about the opportunity.
"It was definitely kind of a whirlwind. Just the whole process of getting a call and having my family settled in and then the next day you're picking up and moving to a new city that you've never been to.
"But I felt like, yeah, New York was going to be kind of like a fresh start. It was going to be a new scheme, an all-new system. It was great to be a part of the organization, and that staff was super excited to have me come in. They had a defined role for me. So it felt like an exciting opportunity to rejuvenate my career a little bit."
Or a whole lot! With timing being everything, Anderson felt his body was back to 100 percent and that he was in the best shape of his career.
"I picked a good year to have the best season of my career," Anderson said. "(GM) Mike Maccagnan brought me to New York that fourth year, and like I said, he was super excited to have me. And the scheme that Coach Todd Bowles and (defensive coordinator) Kacy Rodgers were running; it was very similar to the scheme that we ran when I was at Stanford. So it was a pretty easy transition for me."
Able to play in all 16 games, besides performing well on defense, Anderson also stood out on special teams. Particularly during the last month of the season when he blocked a field goal and an extra point in consecutive games: at Tennessee in Week 13 and at Buffalo in Week 14.
In Week 15 against Houston, he had a career-high three sacks, and contributed four tackles, a sack, and one pass defense in Week 16 versus Green Bay.
Becoming the third player in Jets history with at least one punt, field goal, and extra point blocks in a season, Anderson totaled 35 tackles, 22 solo, a career-high seven sacks, and four passes defensed.
"There were still some points in that season where I wasn't playing at my best, but for the most part I felt super happy with the way that I played," he said. "It was a fun season even though we didn't really win as many games as we wanted. But I formed some really good friendships with the guys on the team."
A Jet for three of his nine seasons in the NFL – besides Indianapolis, he was also with New England and Carolina – Anderson began researching possibilities of what could be his post-playing career while he was still playing.
"Going into my sixth or seventh year in the league, I realized that football is not going to last forever and started looking at a lot of stuff to get involved with after I was done playing, and I was interested in the franchising world," Anderson said.
"I talked to as many people as I could and evaluated hundreds of different concepts and brands to kind of decide who to sign on with. And Playa Bowls, it was a great brand. The product itself, the acai bowls and the smoothies, the quality of the product was at the top of its class. It's the leading acai bowl brand in the country, and the vibe and the brand itself were just something that I loved.
"I felt like it just checked a lot of boxes and it was a healthier food option. It's not like I'm eating a burger and fries or fried chicken or pizza or something, I'm drinking smoothies and eating fresh fruit every day."
Making his home in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife, Saryn, and their two young children, in June of last year, they acquired the Playa Bowls Nashville market, and have three stores open and more in development. They also own the development rights for the Knoxville and Chattanooga markets.
"There's kind of like a big triangle where we're going to try to pop up as many stores as possible over the next four or five years," Anderson said. "I've always wanted to have my own business that I can scale and grow and have control of.
"There's a lot of parallels to football and sports, in general. The franchising model was always appealing. Somebody else has figured out the business model. They've made a ton of mistakes over the years, and continue to perfect the business model. And then they just hand you over like the playbook. And if you can execute at a high level, you're going to have success.
"It's fun being in the weeds every day. I'm doing a lot of business-related work and going out in the community and building brand awareness, and then going into the stores and interacting with customers.
"And it's actually a lot of fun seeing team members that started with you, making bowls and smoothies. They're kind of working their way up and continuing to add more responsibilities. It feels like I'm a head coach and you've got a player that you drafted and has a lot of potential, and then when they kind of unlock a lot of that talent and continue to improve and rise through the ranks, it's fun to see. It's very rewarding and fulfilling."
