INDIANAPOLIS, March 7 -- The Indianapolis Colts Tuesday signed free agent wide receiver Willie 'Flipper' Anderson. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the Indianapolis Star reported a five-year contract worth approximately $8.5 million and includes a $2 million signing bonus.
Anderson, who turned 30 Tuesday, spent the last seven years with the Los Angeles Rams and ranks fifth on the team's all-time receiving list with 5,246 yards. 'I think history has shown we'll take whatever measures are necessary to improve this football team,' Colts general manager Jim Irsay told the Star. 'You can look back to the way we addressed the offensive line in 1993 with Will Wolford and Kirk Lowdermilk, then improved our pass rush last year with Tony Bennett. '(Anderson) is the deep threat we have lacked since (Andre) Rison (in 1989). He can catch a 90-yard touchdown pass and change a game for you. Our list was short on offseason needs and (Anderson) was definitely one of them.' Since joining the Rams as a second-round draft pick out of UCLA in 1988, Anderson has averaged 20.3 yards on 259 receptions. He averaged 20.5 yards per catch last year, second only to Dallas' Alvin Harper (24. 9) among NFL regulars. It was the second straight year the Rams have lost a starting wide receiver to free agency with Henry Ellard jumping to the Washington Redskins in 1994. The last Colts' starting wideout to average at least 20 yards per catch was Roger Carr (21.0) in 1978.
