Getty Kendrick Bourne and Emmanuel Sanders celebrate a play on February 2, 2020 in Miami for the Super Bowl.
Emmanuel Sanders sometimes wonders what could have been.
What if he hadn’t taken a new deal with the New Orleans Saints, or latch on with the Buffalo Bills…had he chosen to stay with the team that gave him his final Super Bowl appearance the San Francisco 49ers? Sanders, 35, became reflective of that when speaking with Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area during his red carpet appearance on Thursday, February 9 for the 2023 NFL Honors show.
“Some days I wake up, I’m like, ‘Man, I probably should have spent an extra two or three years out there in the Bay,’ because it was fun while I was out there,” Sanders said to Chan.
Sanders Best Remembered for Helping Give Air Attack Spark
The 5-foot-11, 180-pounder had appeared in two Super Bowls prior to the 2019 season with the Denver Broncos — winning Super Bowl 50 over the Carolina Panthers inside what would eventually become his home NFL venue Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
At Denver, Sanders established himself as a two-time Pro Bowl slot wide receiver. When he came to the 49ers via trade, he was then perceived as an aging option already in his 10th NFL campaign. And he arrived to the Bay Area with just 30 receptions for 367 yards and scored two touchdowns. He also averaged just 12.2 yards per catch, which matched his 2018 mark. When Denver dealt him away to the Niners, S.F. ended up taking on the remainder of his three-year, $33 million deal he signed in the 2016 offseason.
But he witnessed a brief renaissance in his career while in the process, added a needed aerial dimension for Kyle Shanahan and a 49ers offense that featured a young rookie named Deebo Samuel. Sanders improved his numbers in all three major receiving categories from his final days with the Broncos: 36 catches, 502 yards and three scores. He also improved his average yards per catch to 13.9.
Unfortunately, Sanders was with the 49ers for 12 total games including the postseason. He would go on to take a two-year, $24 million deal with the Saints. But again, his stay with the Niners was brief and ended with the disappointing Super Bowl loss.
“So it was sad to go out that way, and you know, ‘OK, we’re looking forward to next year,’ but you never know what might happen next year,” Sanders said. “So, when you get that opportunity, you want to take advantage of it.”
Including his stint with the 49ers, Sanders caught 66 total passes that ’19 season for 869 yards and five touchdowns. He never surpassed any of those numbers in his lone season in New Orleans and then the subsequent season with the Bills.
How Does Sanders Feel About the State of the 49ers Now?
Sanders already defended his former head coach Shanahan on KNBR’s Murph & Mac Show while on radio row for the Super Bowl on Thursday, February 9 as some fans demanded Shanahan be fired after the 31-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles — with Sanders bluntly asking those detractors “Are you crazy?”
He also called Shanahan a “Hall of Fame coach” who is doing something special. As for the state of the 49ers, does Sanders still believe the pieces are there for an additional run?
“They got playmakers all over in Trent Williams, two young quarterbacks that’s really good, they got receivers all over, [George] Kittle, they got a nice defense,” Sanders added. “I think the Niners are set for a nice little ride, and truthfully, I’m in love with Niner Nation.”
Sanders ended with “Bang, bang, Niner gang.”