NFL’s Carl Granderson Feeds Needy In South Sacramento

By Cheryl Denice Howard | Special to The OBSERVERGloves are a critical piece of equipment for NFL players, especially for large defensive ends handfighting and headbutting in the trenches against equally mammoth offensive linemen.On Nov. 23, though, Sacramento native and New Orleans Saints player Carl Granderson exchanged the thick leather gloves he wears for protection on Sundays for thin nitrile handwear to serve free Thanksgiving dinner to disadvantaged people in a South Sacramento community. The dinner, held at Mack Road Valley High Community Center, was part of Granderson’s ongoing efforts of giving back to his hometown.A 2015 graduate of Grant High School, Granderson, 27, is in the sixth season of a sterling NFL career. He signed with the Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2019 after finishing his college career at the University of Wyoming.Granderson has made multiple trips back to Sacramento. He is heart bent on giving back to the community he reveres as the village that helped raise him.“I have had a great support system from all over,” Granderson said.Although the dinner was his food giveaway, Granderson has sponsored many charitable endeavors in communities throughout Sacramento. He said normally he hosts free football camps for boys and...