His donor is his girlfriend. The surgery is set for March 3, the second anniversary of the day they met. The couple is asking for privacy on her name, which is just about right.
How great is Anderson's lady? She secretly underwent tests to see if she was a match. When he found out that she not only was a match, but the perfect one, he didn't want her to do it. She wouldn't take no for an answer.
"It sure is," says Anderson of this movie that bull-rushed its way past the medical books. "Crazy. The prognosis is good. They said the living donor prognosis is way higher. And so many people who have hit me said they've gone through the same thing and how great their lives are."
Since the video, Anderson found out two of his high school teammates from their days in Mobile, Ala., have had the procedure. Chuck Smith, the Falcons ace pass rusher from the Willie Era, has a sibling who went through it. James Rapien, who covers the Bengals for SI.com, is married to a nurse who is a transplant coordinator and let him know he'll feel brand new.
And, despite fatigue and erratic blood pressure, Anderson is continuing to do what he can. As CEO and chief clinician of the Willie Anderson Offensive Linemen Academy, he returned to his hometown last month for the Senior Bowl to monitor some of his students, as well as current trench trends.
He also recently went on Bengal Jim Foster's podcast, where analyst Joe Goodberry echoed Anderson's case for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It's that season.
Earlier this month, the Hall denied Anderson on his fifth straight trip to the finals. But he did well enough to qualify for a sixth next year, and Anderson's video spawned renewed Canton support.
After his post, this one came from pro football historian Ryan Michael:
"Anderson was the point man for 21 individual 1,000-yard seasons, 12 through the air and nine on the ground, underscoring the breadth of his impact in both phases of offensive production … His tape reveals a technician with balance, hand placement, and recovery ability, traits that translated into week-to-week reliability against elite rushers.
"Measured by Pro Football Reference's Approximate Value (AV), he owns the highest career mark by a right tackle in AFC history … a quantitative affirmation of what the film already shows: a cornerstone player whose performance set the gold standard at the right tackle position."
Goodberry, a Bengals fan, is emblematic of the Who Dey Nation support that has been unleashed.
"They care about their former guys. I learned that in last (15) years since the start of social media. Twitter, stuff like that," Anderson says. "It gives a chance for the former players to see how much the fans appreciate what they did for them. What I've learned in the last several years is that the fans do care and they understand what guys went through to play the game and play at a high level."
Anderson has already amazed the doctors. Despite low numbers, he's been able to stave off dialysis and keep coaching. But, he's had to cut back, and he wants to regain that activity level of five years ago. After three days in the hospital and six weeks of recovery, they say he'll be on his way.
He ticks off his goals: more energy, better quality of sleep, get the blood pressure under control and get off some of the medications. If it sounds like he's got a plan to protect the passer in the biggest game of all, he does. Unlike those one-on-one days, though, he's getting some help.
"A lot of people hear about something like this, and it's usually a dire situation," Anderson says. "Automatically they think if you need a transplant, 'Oh, I'm so sorry.' But they should be happy for me."