Anderson attended Woodward Academy in College Park, Georgia. He played football there under head coachMark Miller, and he had 183 tackles and 20.5 sacks during his career. He totalled 81 tackles, 9.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries and six pass breakups in 2009, leading Woodward Region 4AAA runner-up finish. He was named first team All-state in 2009 by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, was a three-time South Fulton Neighbor All-South Metro and a two-time All-4AAA Region pick. He played in the 2010 Offense-Defense All-American Bowl. He was rated as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and was ranked as the nation’s 27th-best defensive end prospect in his class by Rivals, 42nd according to Scout.com. He committed to Stanford University to play college football. Anderson also lettered in basketball and track & field. He won the state championship and broke the school record in the shot put with a throw of 17.44 meters. He also recorded a top-throw of 43.88 meters in the discus and was a member of the 400m relay squad.
College career
Anderson played at Stanford from 2010 to 2014. After redshirting his first year, he played in 13 games in 2011. He recorded six tackles and had a 37-yard fumble recovery. In 2012, Anderson started all 14 games and had 50 tackles and 5.5 sacks. In 2013, he played in eight games, missing six due to a knee injury. He finished the year with 19 tackles and three sacks. As a senior in 2014, he played in all 13 games and had 65 tackles and 8.5 sacks.
Professional career
Indianapolis Colts
Anderson was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft. On November 8, during a 27–24 win over the then-undefeated Denver Broncos, Anderson suffered a knee injury and did not return to the game. The following day, he was placed on injured reserve, ending his 2015 season. On November 9, 2017, Anderson was placed on injured reserve with a laryngeal fracture.
On April 28, 2018, Anderson was traded to the New York Jets in exchange for a seventh round pick previously traded from the Seattle Seahawks in the 2018 NFL Draft. The traded pick was used to select Zaire Franklin. He played in all 16 games with three starts, recording a career-high 35 combined tackles, seven sacks, and four passes defensed. On March 12, 2019, Anderson signed a three-year, $25.2 million contract extension with the Jets. Henry Anderson has been accused of taking cheap shots at players throughout his time in the NFL. He was most notably called out by Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott in December 2018 for a blind-side hit on Stephen Hauschka, and was again in the news for his late hit on Bills quarterback Josh Allen after Week 1 of the 2019 season. On September 14, 2019, he was fined $10,527 by the league office for his late hit on Allen.
