© Ron Chenoy | 2019 Sep 29
Emmanuel Sanders is coming to Santa Clara. After a report this week from Jason La Canfora that the 49ers were “aggressively pursuing” wide receivers in the trade market, the 49ers got a deal done on Tuesday for the Denver Broncos’ Emmanuel Sanders.
The 32-year-old, two-time Pro Bowler projects to immediately slot in as the 49ers’ No. 1 wide receiver, but he came with a significant price. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the 49ers gave up their third- and fourth-round draft picks in exchange for Sanders and the Broncos’ fifth-round pick in the upcoming 2020 draft.
https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1186716765084094469?s=20
The 49ers gave up their second-round draft pick this season for Dee Ford, meaning the team will be without a second-, third-, or fourth-round draft pick in the upcoming draft. On the flip side, if the 49ers continue to play as well as they have, those picks will be late round, while the Broncos, at 2-5, may have early round picks. In essence, the fourth- for fifth-round pick could turn out to be a trade back of a few slots if the current trend of each team’s play continues.
Sanders will enter free agency this offseason, something that could be looked at as a negative when viewing the trade. However, from the 49ers’ perspective, who will likely have to give hefty extensions to George Kittle and DeForest Buckner (and potentially Arik Armstead, though that may not be viable), an expiring deal may actually be viewed positively.
According to Schefter, Sanders is expected to play this week.
Denver wanted to hold on to Emmanuel Sanders for another week and have him play Sunday against Indianapolis. But San Francisco wanted Sanders to play Sunday against Carolina – and now he will.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 22, 2019
