Written By: Steve Kimble
Emmanuel Sanders signed an offer sheet with the New England Patriots. It has been reported that it is a one-year offer worth 2.5 million. The Steelers could easily match this offer. The question now becomes will the Steelers match the offer?
The Steelers now have until Sunday to decide if Sanders is in their future plans or if they would prefer a third round pick (91st overall) from the Patriots.
Emmanuel Sanders has been a solid wide receiver for the Steelers. Sanders has 94 catches for 1290 yards and 5 touchdowns in his three-year career.
He has started eight games and played in a total of forty. Sanders had his best season last year with 44 catches for 626 yards and one touchdown.
Sanders has had a history of foot problems in his career. He has had multiple surgeries but seemed fine last season.
Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert had this to say weeks ago when asked about the possibility Sanders signs an offer sheet elsewhere
”We’ll wait to see what fits. If a player makes sense, if we think he is a better player and we can make it fit financially , then we will investigate. There are really no limitations on looking for other guys.”
The Steelers did bring in wide receiver Steve Breaston for a look recently and he has played for offensive coordinator Todd Haley before.
So is Sanders a part of the Steelers future plans or do they feel they could use the draft pick and get a free agent of the same value?
Sanders would become an unrestricted free agent next season unless he signs a long-term deal soon. The Steelers would probably lose him in free agency next season and receive nothing in return if that’s the case.
Would the Steelers be better off receiving the 3rd round pick this season or should the Steelers sign Sanders now?
We will soon know what the Steelers thoughts are. What are yours?
Feel free to comment , we want to hear from you!
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George H
April 12, 2013 at 9:36 am
I get the feeling that the Steelers are trying to break up last years debacle known as the Young Money Crew. If they wanted to keep Sanders he would of been offered a higher tender or they would of approached him with an extension. Sanders is a good route runner and a good look on 3rd down, but he has dropped the ball and has that history of injury. Every time Sanders gets hit, it seems like he gets broken in half. The Steelers FO probably measures Sanders positives and negatives of his game and probably see not enough good to keep him around for the cap hit this season. I would take the 3rd round pick from NE and trying to fix some of the holes we have through the draft.
Some possible solutions I could see the Steelers doing to address the WR corps is signing Brandon Lloyd to a one year stop gap kind of deal that wouldnt be much of a hit to the cap. Also address wr early in the draft. I wouldn’t go WR in round 1 bc I’m not too big on Patterson and Austin, but definitely worth a look in round 2. Someone like a Keenan Allen, Deandre Hopkins, or Robert Woods in round two would be ideal. Three big, physical receivers that Haley needs to help run his offense. Another wr I would like to see the Steelers get around round 4-5 is Marquis Goodwin out of Texas. He ran the 4.25 40 at the combine. Speed kills; Goodwin can stretch the field and step in as returner so Brown can focus on being our number 1 wideout. Just a few available options for the Steelers, probably won’t happen knowing how I mock draft and the unpredictability of the actual draft.
Jamey Buster
April 13, 2013 at 3:49 pm
Sanders needs to stay In Pittsburgh, he has the potential of being just as good If not better than AB and he’s familiar with our system and he’s a great target for Ben and has awesome speed and works hard on and off the field, he’s a great pass route runner and he’s a great 3rd down receiver, and people only want to talk about the passes he dropped last year, NEWS FLASH all of our WR dropped key passes, but that was lat season, that season Is over, It’s time to move forward, and I say we move forward with AB and E88 as our #1and #2 WR
George H
April 13, 2013 at 10:46 pm
Solid points there Jamey, the only thing though is the cap issue for next season. Sanders will most likely get bigger money via FA after this season, so I would rather get a 3rd for him then letting him walk for nothing. I do think he has the potential to be a solid 1 or 2 for us, but given his injury history, I’d take the 3rd round pick and move on