It was going to be difficult for the 49ers to re-sign wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, but now it appears any hopes they might’ve had of bringing the 33-year-old back are extinguished. ESPN’s Josina Anderson on Friday reported Sanders intends to sign with the Saints on a two-year deal. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the deal will be worth $16 million with an additional $3 million in incentives.
San Francisco acquired Sanders from the Broncos, along with a fifth-round pick, in exchange for the 49ers’ third and fourth-round selections in this year’s draft.
Sanders immediately stepped in and made a difference in a young 49ers’ receiving corps. He caught a touchdown in his first game with the club, and despite battling a nasty rib injury for several weeks, caught 36 balls for 502 yards and three touchdowns in 10 regular games.
One of his best games came in New Orleans, when he had seven receptions for 157 yards and a touchdown. He also threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to running back Raheem Mostert in the 49ers’ shootout victory.
There was a tangible on-field impact for the rest of the 49ers’ receivers as well. Both Deebo Samuel and Kendrick Bourne came into their own once the 10-year veteran arrived in the Bay Area. San Francisco finished the season effectively only using those three receivers, with Richie James getting sparse playing time.
It could be argued that Sanders’ arrival was the catalyst that pushed the 49ers over the hump to the Super Bowl in 2019. Retaining him would’ve been a nice offseason win, but committing that much money over multiple years to a veteran receiver wasn’t in the cards for San Francisco with all of the other salary cap navigating they have ahead of them.
Sanders will get to pair with Michael Thomas and catch passes from Drew Brees on a Saints team that was already among the NFC’s best last season. New Orleans is on the 49ers’ schedule, although no dates have been determined yet.
Tight end George Kittle already took to Twitter to claim Sanders’ jersey in a post-game jersey swap.
But in all seriousness congrats E! Dibs on your jersey next year 😅😅 @ESanders_10
— George Kittle (@gkittle46) March 21, 2020
The 49ers have a handful of in-house candidates that could step in to take over for Sanders, but the addition of the No. 13 overall pick in this year’s draft from the DeForest Buckner trade could mean San Francisco tries to replace Sanders with one of the top receiver prospects.