The Patriots have now lost Brandon Lloyd and Wes Welker, which means adding Danny Amendola isn’t going to be enough. Maybe Emmanuel Sanders, a restricted free agent from the Pittsburgh Steelers, is going to be the latest addition to the wide receiver core enjoying the Tom Brady passing skills.
The three year veteran had somewhat of a breakout season last year for the Steelers, playing in 16 games for the first time in his career, catching 44 passes for 626 yards and a touchdown. While not a huge impact player, Sanders is certainly useful as a #3, maybe even #2 receiver, and should certainly be of use in a more socialistic system like the Pats have, with no clear number one guy at the moment.
While the rumors are a bit inconclusive as to whether the Patriots have given Sanders an offer sheet or not (which now the Steelers have to equal in five days or see him walk away), what is certain is that after already losing Mike Wallace to the Miami Dolphins, the Steelers aren’t in a position where they can allow themselves to start losing more and more offensive weapons as they head into a very doubt-filled period regarding their ability to be a playoff team once again.
One thing in certain – losing Sanders is a bigger deal for the Steelers than gaining him is for the Patriots, who simply wouldn’t mind seeing the Steelers give Sanders a higher contract than they wanted to initially.