Arizona Cardinals TAMPA, FL – FEBRUARY 01: The Arizona Cardinals helmet is seen on the field before Super Bowl XLIII on February 1, 2009 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Robbie Anderson has been making a lot of changes recently. Not only did he change teams but he has now changed his first name. Again.

The former Carolina Panthers wideout is now going by the name “Chosen.”  On his Instagram page, he is now listed as “Anderson R, Chosen.”

Anderson hasn’t explained why the change but perhaps he will do so once training camp begins.

Technically, this is his second time changing his first name. Anderson initially changed his first name from Robby to Robbie a while back.

It’s not unheard of however for athletes to legally change their name to something else, either for publicity or for religious reasons.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. while he played at UCLA. He changed his name to Abdul-Jabbar in the early 1970s when he converted to Islam and was influenced by civil rights leader Malcolm X.

Chris Jackson, who was a star basketball player at LSU, also converted to Islam and changed his name to Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf in 1993, which was a huge deal for American basketball fans.

While others changed their name for religious reasons, some like Chad Johnson just did it for publicity. Johnson changed his name to Chad “Ocho Cinco” to honor Hispanic History Month, later making it official in 2008.

So whatever Anderson’s reasons for changing his name, whether it be for publicity or just because he is the “Chosen” one, it’s an interesting choice and will have fans talking.

Anderson only caught one touchdown and 282 yards for the Panthers and Cardinals last year, both career lows for him. Maybe the name change will bring him better luck next season.

{Pantherswire}

About Stacey Mickles

Stacey is a 1995 graduate of the University of Alabama who has previously worked for other publications such as Sportskeeda and Saturday Down South.