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Former Super Bowl champion Emmanuel Sanders remains a free agent, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could add him to the wide receiver room.
Pro Football Network floated the Bucs as a possible landing spot for Sanders in March. Sanders, 35, played for the Buffalo Bills last season after previous stints in New Orleans, San Francisco, Denver, and Pittsburgh. He won a Super Bowl with Denver in 2016.
Tampa Bay needs a third receiver who could make an immediate impact amid Chris Godwin‘s ACL tear recovery. Sanders could fit that bill after catching 45 passes for 626 yards and four touchdowns last season. The two-time Pro Bowler has produced at least more than 500 yards and three or more touchdowns for the past three seasons.
“The Bucs wouldn’t need or ask Sanders to be anything more than a part-time player,” Pro Football Network’s Jason Katz wrote. “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,” Katz added.
Sanders made $6 million in Buffalo for 2021 per Spotrac. The Bucs have $12.4 million remaining in salary cap space, per Spotrac, with draft picks and free agents to re-sign.
If the Bucs don’t grab Sanders, he could go to NFC rival Green Bay, which Katz also floated as a possible destination.
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Sanders’ Future in Doubt
Sanders also may not go anywhere and just retire. Katz noted “it doesn’t sound like Sanders has made a final decision yet” when free agency began.
“I’ve got my son, he’s getting older,” Sanders said on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” in February via Sports Illustrated’s Bills Central. “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.”
“… After the [playoff loss] versus the [Kansas City] Chiefs, you know, [quarterback] Josh Allen was like, ‘hey, let’s run it back.’ And I was like, ‘man, give me some time to reflect and see how I feel.'”
Sanders has been relatively durable of late, playing 14 games each of the past two seasons and 17 games in 2019 between two teams. He has played at least 11 or more games every season of his career.
Great Connections
If Sanders joins the Bucs, it would add Tom Brady to the Hall of Fame list of quarterbacks he has played with.
Sanders previously played with Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh, Drew Brees in New Orleans, and Peyton Manning in Denver. Sanders also played with Allen in Buffalo, and the fifth-year star could be heading on the same trajectory as the aforementioned quarterbacks.
“When you got a good quarterback, they make you right,” Sanders said in a November 2021 press conference.
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