Emmanuel Sanders has spent the past few seasons chasing a second Super Bowl ring, but 2021 may have been the final chapter in that endeavor. As Nick Fierro of Sports Illustrated writes, the veteran is giving retirement some serious consideration.
Sanders will be 35 by the start of the 2022 season, which would be his 13th year in the league. In an interview with Colin Cowherd of Fox Sports, he made it clear that his priorities may be changing with regards to the balance between football and family.
“I’ve got my son, he’s getting older”, he said. “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.”
Sanders spent the first four years of his career with the Steelers after being drafted in the third round in 2010. His longest – and most successful – stint came with the Broncos, which included a stretch of three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. It’s also where he won his only Super Bowl to date. He got a chance at another title with the 49ers in 2019, but wound up on the losing end of that game.
After a season with the Saints which saw another playoff appearance, and demonstrated he could still be a productive complementary receiver, Sanders joined his third new team in as many years. He signed a one-year, $6M deal with the Bills last March. Even though Sanders didn’t exactly fill the stat sheet (42 catches, 626 yards and four touchdowns in 14 games), he had another good opportunity at a Super Bowl. Once again, he was ousted by the Chiefs, though, in an iconic game which may have been his last in the NFL.
If Sanders does find a home for another season, he would need 755 yards to reach 10,000 for his career. If he doesn’t return to Buffalo, the Bills would still have Stefon Diggs, Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis under contact for next season.
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