With Emmanuel Sanders set to be a free agent on Wednesday, let’s make some predictions as to where he might end up. Sanders signed a one-year contract with the Bills for the 2021 season. Here are some predictions and potential landing spots for Sanders.
Top predictions for free agent Emmanuel Sanders
Heading into the 2021 season, I was actually bullish on Sanders. Despite being 34 years old, Sanders still looked like he had a little gas left in the tank.
Sanders started off the 2021 season strong averaging 68 receiving yards per game over his first six games and scoring 4 touchdowns. Then the wheels fell off. It’s hard to know whether it was due to his age or a change in the offensive game plan. Either way, Sanders never mattered again.
From Week 8 through the end of the season, Sanders had just one game with more than 30 receiving yards (Week 9). He was barely a factor in the Bills’ two playoff games, playing just 46% and 27% of the offensive snaps, respectively.
Sanders, at 35 years old, is very realistic in his understanding of where he’s at in his career. He’s played in three Super Bowls, winning one with Peyton Manning in Denver. Sanders knows his role on an NFL team would be as a rotational WR4, with his real value coming as that reliable veteran presence behind the scenes. If Sanders does continue his career, who might sign the free agent?
Retirement
This still feels like the most likely outcome. While most older players hint at retirement, Sanders outright said the words.
In an interview with Colin Cowherd last month, Sanders said “I’ve got my son, he’s getting older. I’ve got a daughter getting older. And for the past three years, [I’ve] been traveling and moving from team to team, trying to win a Super Bowl… But I’ve got some reflecting I want to do and possibly retire. I don’t know yet. I’m just feeling it out.”
It doesn’t sound like Sanders has made a final decision yet. And he may not make one anytime soon. Sanders doesn’t need to be at the front of the line in free agency. He was never going to be that guy anyway. Sanders can sit back, spend some time with his family, and decide if he wants to continue his career.
Don’t expect to see Sanders sign with anyone this week or even this month. If he does choose to return for what will likely be one more season, he can latch on with a contender later in the offseason. The Bills gave Sanders $6 million to play for them last season. Any deal he signs for this season would almost certainly be for at least $1-2 million less.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Here’s a list of quarterbacks Sanders has received passes from: Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Jimmy Garoppolo, Josh Allen. Why not add Tom Brady to the list?
The Bucs are certainly not starved for talent at wide receiver. They have Mike Evans and Chris Godwin forming one of the best duos in the league. However, they did run into problems last season when Godwin got hurt and Antonio Brown quit the team. Cyril Grayson, Breshad Perriman, and Tyler Johnson just weren’t getting it done. It was a real problem. A problem Sanders could solve.
The Bucs wouldn’t need or ask Sanders to be anything more than a part-time player. But in a pinch, they know he’s a reliable guy they could put on the field that wouldn’t make mistakes.
A one-year deal for $3-4 million to make one more at a title would make a lot of sense for Sanders, and it would provide the Bucs with an in-case-of-emergency, break-glass kind of security plan at wide receiver.
Green Bay Packers
Sanders just loves his Hall of Fame quarterbacks. The Packers have one of the worst salary cap situations in the NFL. They are going to have to move heaven and earth to create room for Aaron Rodgers’ extension and Davante Adams’ inevitable extension.
This is also a team that has ignored the WR2 role since Jordy Nelson left. They may not be able to afford much more than a small one-year deal on a veteran like Sanders.
The Packers also make sense for what Sanders is looking for in chasing a title. I don’t see Sanders returning for another year to sign with anyone other than a contender. In Green Bay, he would get to play with Rodgers and assume a part-time rotational WR3/4 role that suits him as his current age.