Tag: Mohamed Sanu

13 big NFL names that could be cap casualties in 2020

Carolina quarterback Cam Newton headlines a list of 13 players that could be salary cap casualties.

The Super Bowl hasn’t been played yet, but it’s time to start looking ahead to the 2020 season. The 30 teams not in the Super Bowl already are doing that.

One of the first things teams do in the offseason is look at their salary cap. They start looking for ways to trim it before the league year and free agency begin in March. Inevitably, there are some big names that are released or traded to clear cap space. This year is no exception.

Let’s take a look at 13 big names that could be cap casualties before the 2020 season:

13. Vernon Hargreaves, CB, Houston Texans

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Picked up off waivers from Tampa Bay during last season, Hargreaves’ production didn’t match up with his salary. The Texans can clear $9.9 million against the cap by cutting him. The former first-round pick has to join a new team at a bargain rate and reinvent himself if he ever is going to get another big contract.

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What Bill Belichick wouldn’t say amid playoff preparations for Titans

“Yeah, we’re focused on the Titans.”

Bill Belichick was as effusive with praise as ever about the Tennessee Titans during his press conferences this week. The New England Patriots coach pointed out every one of the Titans’ redeeming qualities — and there are many. Tennessee is on a hot streak under the leadership of quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

Don’t laugh.

Tannehill has the No. 1 passer rating and the highest yards per attempt in the NFL since Week 7. With help from receivers A.J. Brown and Corey Davis, Tannehill’s offense has been extremely impressive.

“Honestly, they’re not in the red area that much,” Belichick said. “They score from way out a lot. But when they do get into the red area, they’re good.”

It was an easy week for Belichick to dwell upon his upcoming opponent. That’s surely where his mind was genuinely fixed. But there were a few topics this week — just like every week — which were a no-fly zone for Belichick. Here’s a look at the questions he wouldn’t answer.

1. Is it strange that it’s possible you’re coaching your final game with Tom Brady?

What he said: “Yeah, we’re focused on the Titans. That’s all I’m focused on, so we’ll do everything we can to get ready to go and play the best game we can play Saturday night.”

What we think he’s thinking: Belichick made a rare display of verbal affection for his quarterback on NFL100. Brady and Belichick seem to have gone through at least one rough patch in their 20-year relationship, but Belichick is still the same man who laughed in the face of 49ers general manager John Lynch when he called to trade for Brady in 2017. Belichick appreciates Brady — he’ll show appreciation for Brady when the moment is right. Clearly, this moment was not the right time. Belichick is thinking about the Titans — and he’ll attempt to untangle the complicated contract negotiations with Brady when the season ends. And he’ll get nostalgic only when and if it’s clear Brady is leaving.

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Mohamed Sanu’s acclimation to Patriots has been puzzling

What can we expect from Mohamed Sanu?

New England Patriots receiver Mohamed Sanu and quarterback Tom Brady aren’t clicking. When New England traded a second-round pick for Sanu, the team needed help at receiver. That need grew more severe when the Patriots parted ways with Josh Gordon. But Week 17 was yet another example of Sanu’s inconsistency — along with struggles for the entire offense.

Sanu had some issues with separation and a drop on a first-and-10 in the first half on Sunday. Brady also didn’t look Sanu’s way when he created separation. And then there was Brady’s overthrow to Sanu in the end zone in the second half. Sanu was breaking to the deep corner of the end zone, but Brady threw the ball well over the receiver’s head.

“Certainly, yesterday was not one of our better performances in any phase of the game, so we’ll try to improve on that,” Bill Belichick said when asked about whether Sanu is clicking in the offense.

Why have his performances been so up and down?

“It’s not like we’re trying to throw a certain number of passes to a certain number of players,” Belichick said.

Players have to earn their targets. Apparently, Sanu has struggled to do so. Surely, his ankle injury played a part in his diminished role. That has probably hampered his abilities on the field during game day, but it has also likely hindered his acclimation to the offense. If he’s limited in practice, he misses valuable snaps with Brady.

It seemed like Sanu had turned a corner with 10 catches, 84 yards and a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 9. But perhaps because that game plan suited him best — and the more recent ones have been more challenging to grasp. Whatever the season, he had just three catches for 35 yards in Week 17. It was his sixth consecutive game with three catches or fewer.

The playoffs have arrived, with the Patriots slated to play the Tennessee Titans in the wild-card round on Saturday at Gillette Stadium. There’s still hope Sanu can contribute, and because the Patriots gave up significant draft assets to get him, they must still have faith he’ll be a big part of their playoff run. But teams have been doubling Julian Edelman, which has killed the Patriots offense. And they’re going to keep doing that until the Patriots prove they can make consistent use of their other pass-catchers.

Someone needs to step up in the playoffs. Sanu is a leading candidate.

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Winners and losers as Patriots suffer stunning upset to Dolphins in Week 17

The Patriots will play in the wild card round.

Here are the winners and losers from the New England Patriots’ 27-24 loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 17 at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.

The Patriots slipped out of the No. 2 spot, losing the the playoff bye. They will move to the third seed, and will play either the Tennessee Titans, the Pittsburgh Steelers or the Oakland Raiders next week during the wild card round.

Loser: Stephon Gilmore, CB

He allowed one of the most costly plays of the game: Devante Parker beat Gilmore for a jump-ball for 24 yards on third-and-5 on the Dolphins’ final offensive drive. There were a number of bad plays for New England on that drive, but this was one the Patriots expect Gilmore, their best player all season, to make. He didn’t. First down. The game-winning  touchdown came a few plays later, with Patrick Chung getting beat in coverage against tight end Mike Gesicki.

And that captures just how wild this game was: the team’s best and most consistent player Gilmore was a mess. He didn’t look like the Defensive Player of the Year. Instead, Parker got the better of Gilmore for much of the game. Parker finished with eight catches and 137 yards, and won with a diversity of routes (crosses and fades).

Gilmore has created a high standard for himself. This performance was well below that standard.

Winner: Elandon Roberts, LB

Mike Vrabel… is that you?

Maybe this game wasn’t a pleasure for Patriots fans to watch. In fact, it was probably miserable. But Roberts’ touchdown catch was a fun moment for New England.

The linebacker has been playing at fullback after the Patriots saw injuries to James Develin and Jakob Johnson. Roberts hadn’t touched the ball despite his solid work as a blocker, and perhaps because of that, the Dolphins left him completely uncovered on a wheel route on first-and-10 in the second half. New England was hoping the Dolphins would forget about Roberts — Tom Brady dumped the ball off to Roberts, who had nothing but open field in front of him, thanks to strong play design by offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

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Tom Brady, Mohamed Sanu upgraded on injury report in Week 16

Julian Edelman was limited.

The New England Patriots’ injury report rarely bears good news for fans, but on Tuesday, quarterback Tom Brady and receiver Mohamed Sanu were not listed. That’s a positive turn for the Patriots.

Brady was listed as a full participant for all of last week, but was listed with an elbow issue. Sanu was dealing with an ankle injury, and was limited. It seems, at least for the day, they were OK.

The Patriots had four limited participants: LB Ja’Whaun Bentley, WR Julian Edelman (knee/shoulder), CB Jason McCourty (groin) and DT Danny Shelton (shoulder). Cornerback Jon Jones was absent from practice and didn’t participate. He exited the Patriots’ Week 15 win over the Cincinnati Bengals with a groin injury.

McCourty has missed two of the last three weeks with his injury, though that has thrust J.C. Jackson into an increased role, in which he has looked extremely comfortable. Edelman’s health seems to be a problem, as he suffered a knee injury in Week 14 and appeared hampered in Week 15 (2 catches, 9 yards).

New England kicks off against the Bills at 4:25 p.m. on Saturday at Gillette Stadium.

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Julian Edelman, Ted Karras active for Week 15 against Bengals

Good news for Tom Brady.

Tom Brady has to be happy ahead of Week 15.

Receivers Julian Edelman and Mohamed Sanu and center Ted Karras were all listed as questionable with injuries, but they were all active on Sunday for Week 15 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Edelman had an existing shoulder injury, but this week, the receiver was also listed with a new issue, a knee problem which he suffered in Week 14. Sanu has been dealing with a lingering ankle issue. And Karras will make his return after missing Week 14 when he had a knee problem.

But that’s who will play. Here’s a look at who won’t play:

Korey Cunningham, OL
Ryan Izzo, TE
Byron Cowart, DL
Damien Harris, RB
Jason McCourty, CB
Jermaine Eleumunor, OL
Cody Kessler, QB

McCourty was present in Week 14, though he played a limited role. He did not play in Week 13. He is dealing with a groin issue. That could promote JC Jackson and Jonathan Jones into bigger roles on Sunday.

New England kicks off in Cincinnati at 1 p.m.

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Julian Edelman, Mohamed Sanu questionable for Week 15 vs. Bengals

Again, the Patriots’ top WRs are on the injury report. Do they have something to worry about?

The New England Patriots listed seven players as questionable for Week 15 against the Bengals in Cincinnati on Sunday.

Receivers Julian Edelman (knee, shoulder) and Mohamed Sanu (ankle) were both limited participants in practice, and were among those questionable. Edelman missed practice on Wednesday, and his knee injury was new to the report this week. He did not speak with the media during the week to address his health. The 33-year-old receiver has been hugely influential in New England’s offense in 2019, and is on pace to set career highs in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns.

Center Ted Karras (knee) has missed one week after suffering his injury in Week 13. If he played, it would be a remarkably quick turnaround for what is reported to be a MCL sprain. Last week, center James Ferentz replaced Karras.

The other questionable Patriots were: LB Ja’Whaun Bentley (knee), DT Byron Cowart (head), CB Jason McCourty (groin) and DT Danny Shelton (shoulder).

New England kicks off against Cincinnati on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

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Bill Belichick acknowledges Mohamed Sanu’s ability to quickly fit in with Patriots

Mohamed Sanu has quickly made his mark in the New England Patriots locker room. 

Mohamed Sanu has quickly made his mark in the New England Patriots locker room.

The Patriots traded for the eight-year veteran earlier in the season and he’s building a rapport with everyone in the organization. Julian Edelman called him an incredible teammate a few weeks back and Bill Belichick echoed that point in his press conference on Friday.

“Yeah, great. I mean, he’s a great guy,” Belichick said. “I think he gets along well with everybody – coaches, players, offensive teammates, defensive teammates, he’s involved in the kicking game. So yeah, he’s a guy that is easy to get to know, easy to talk to and seems to fit in pretty quickly. Yeah, good teammate, definitely.”

Sanu’s statistics have significantly dropped since his first couple weeks with the team, but lingering injuries may be to blame. He had 12 catches for 104 yards and a touchdown with 19 targets in his first two games — he’s only had six catches for 31 yards with 10 targets in the last three games he’s played in.

Tom Brady had his weekly WEEI interview on Monday and talked about getting Sanu more involved with the offense.

“We were trying to get him the ball at different times, and sometimes the coverage dictated it go somewhere else. But he’s doing a great job,” Brady said. “He’s a really tough, hard-nosed guy that wants the ball. He’s competitive, and I have to do a better job finding him and getting him the ball, because he can do good things with it.”

Sanu will need to become an importance piece in this offense going forward, because Edelman has been the only reliable receiver and that’s not the formula for another Super Bowl appearance.

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Mohamed Sanu praises Julian Edelman’s grit: ‘He’s a bad man’

The word tough is an understatement when it comes to Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman. 

The word tough is an understatement when it comes to New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman.

The 5-foot-10, 195 pound slot receiver takes a beating more often than not and he always shoots right back up. This is the grit that’s helped him become one of the NFL’s most successful postseason receivers and he’s a huge reason for the Patriots’ success over the past decade.

Edelman has been listed as questionable since Week 3 of this season and it began with a chest injury. He’s racked up other small injuries also, but that hasn’t prevented him from recording 90 receptions for 1,010 yards and six touchdowns in 13 games. Edelman is Tom Brady’s only trusted receiver, which makes it more difficult for him to get open amongst the double teams.

New England’s newest receiver Mohamed Sanu has witnessed this first-hand, and he spoke on it after practice Wednesday.

“Man, y’all don’t understand how tough Jules is,” Sanu said, transcribed by NESN. “That dude’s tough. He’s a tough son of a gun, and he goes out there every day. Whether there’s something aching, something biting or whatever the case may be, he gives it all he’s got. Even when they tell him not to, he’s still out there, and that’s what I love about him. I love to compete with him, man.”

Edelman, 33, is having the best season of his career, and that’s after tearing his ACL — while following it up with a Super Bowl MVP award. Special teams captain Matthew Slater spoke about Edelman earlier in the season and wasn’t short of compliments.

“Part of me is not amazed anymore because that is who he is, but then you kind of take that for granted. I don’t think you can take a guy like Julian for granted,” Slater said. “I honestly think sometimes he can go out there and die, not literally, but he will give you everything he has until he can’t. That is just rare. Not only for this era of football, but I think for any era of football to have a guy like that — just his will to go out and compete and win, and to play through whatever is going on is really unmatched in my mind.”

Sanu is looking in at a player that has embodied this level of toughness his entire life.

“You can see how tough he is in his play,” Sanu said. “They don’t call him Squirrel for nothing. He’s a bad man.”

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Tom Brady on Mohamed Sanu: ‘I have to do a better job finding him’

Josh McDaniels and Tom Brady are optimistic on Mohamed Sanu’s slow start.

The New England Patriots made a noteworthy acquisition at the trade deadline: receiver Mohamed Sanu. But we haven’t seen much of him in recent weeks — not since his breakout game against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 9 when he had eight catches for 81 yards a touchdown.

Since then, he has been dealing with an ankle injury, and has just six catches for 31 yards. In Week 14, Sanu played 39 offensive snaps (59) and had just one catch for 13 yards.

“We were trying to get him the ball at different times, and sometimes the coverage dictated it go somewhere else. But he’s doing a great job,” Brady said Monday on WEEI after a 23-16 loss against the Kansas City Chiefs. “He’s a really tough, hard-nosed guy that wants the ball. He’s competitive, and I have to do a better job finding him and getting him the ball, because he can do good things with it.”

Sanu’s lack of participation has been an oddity. New England’s offense has struggled in recent weeks, and he seemed like the addition that would help the team prevent regression — even after the team released Josh Gordon. Still, Sanu hasn’t been the answer to the Patriots’ offensive struggles.

“Mo’s [Mohamed Sanu] done a great job of really immersing himself into what we’re doing,” offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said on Tuesday. “We’ve learned a lot about Mo in the time we’ve had him here, and we’re looking forward to trying to expand the things he does and get him to do the things he feels good about doing because I know he can really help our team produce, as he has already.”

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