5 players 49ers should have signed in free agency
By Peter Panacy
No. 4: Wide Receiver Emmanuel Sanders
It was something of a shock (although not really, considering their cap-space situation) to see the New Orleans Saints part ways with veteran wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders one year into the two-year deal he signed after the 49ers bid him farewell in NFL free agency a year ago.
That prompted the idea Sanders could return to the Niners on a reunion, of sorts, pairing him again with wide receiver Deebo Samuel and serving as a reliable presence for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo or the No. 3 overall pick in the draft, whoever he is, this upcoming season.
Granted, Samuel and second-year pro Brandon Aiyuk are expected to comprise an excellent one-two punch at the position. But Sanders’ veteran prowess and experience were big reasons behind San Francisco’s run to the Super Bowl in 2019, and the 49ers depth behind those two returnees is still awfully questionable.
True, John Lynch could have felt Sanders would price himself out of the Niners’ comfort range. But considering the 34-year-old veteran inked a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills worth up to a mere $4.625 million, it’s hard to think San Francisco couldn’t afford to pony up that kind of cash to fully round out its wide receiver depth chart.
It’s reasonable to assume the 49ers are looking at a deep wide receiver class in the 2021 NFL Draft, which could have thwarted any notion Sanders was a free-agent target.
Generally speaking, though, going with scheme experience and proven reliability is much safer than banking on a rookie when the team is under pressure to win now.