Teammates tell wideout Sanders, ‘Hope you’re back’
Emmanuel Sanders was cleaning out his Levi’s Stadium locker Wednesday morning when he got a welcome interruption.
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk tapped the receiver on the shoulder. As they embraced, Juszczyk said: “I hope you’re back.”
It’s abundantly clear that Sanders’ 49ers teammates want him to return next season, but whether the team’s most experienced wideout will be in a San Francisco uniform is anyone’s guess.
“You guys are asking me questions about stuff that’s going to happen in a month and a
half,” Sanders said, wearing a “Been Through the Fire” black hoodie. “I’m just trying to enjoy saying goodbye to my teammates. I don’t know what the future holds. I don’t have the answers. We’ll see.”
Sanders joins defensive lineman Arik Armstead and safety Jimmie Ward as the 49ers’ top pending free agents, but his situation might be the most fluid. Finishing a threeyear, $33 million deal and turning 33 in March, most experts have Sanders’ projected cap hit north of $9 million for next season.
In some ways, the 10year pro revived his career after a midseason trade to the 49ers. He had 36 catches for 502 yards and three touchdowns in 10 games with San Francisco and was just as instrumental leading the franchise’s young receivers.
“You can’t even describe it,” quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said. “What he did, coming in the way he did, never asking for the ball, and never doing too much, he was exactly what we needed. He was a veteran presence for the younger receivers, for everyone — myself included. Everything he did, he did it with class. You couldn’t ask for a better teammate. …
“I would love to have ‘E’ back.”
The major questions appear to be whether the 49ers will allow Sanders to test free agency after shipping a third and fourthround pick to Denver for what could end up being a halfyear rental and if they could match other suitors for one of the few proven receivers on the market.
In 10 seasons with Pittsburgh, Denver and San Francisco, Sanders has 601 receptions for 7,893 yards and 42 touchdowns. He was a Pro Bowler in 2014 and ’16 and has played in three Super Bowls.
At this point in his career, he said winning is more important than money, but his thoughts about free agency haven’t progressed much further. He does believe the 49ers will be winning for a while.
“We’re different. This team is different. This organization is different,” Sanders said. “It doesn’t start with the players. It starts with the general manager. From there, it’s the coach. Those are special guys, and they’re going to get a group of guys around here who are going to win for a long time. I know ‘Niner Faithful’ is upset about the Super Bowl loss, but the people who are controlling the reins of this organization, even from the ownership, are going to win for a long time.”
Sanders said he has watched Super Bowl LIV five or six times since the 49ers blew a 10point fourthquarter lead in their 3120 loss to Kansas City. He had three catches for 38 yards and was targeted two other times, including a potential gamechanger.
With 1:40 remaining and the 49ers trailing 2420, Sanders beat the Chiefs’ secondary deep down the middle of the field on a play that would have put the 49ers ahead. Instead, Garoppolo overthrew Sanders.
“It’s like rewatching a movie. You watch ‘Titanic’ and hope the ship just doesn’t sink,” Sanders said. “For some reason, the ship just keeps sinking over and over. I go back and watch the game and see all of the plays we left out there and all of the opportunities we missed. We could have come out victorious, but we didn’t. That’s the reality, so now, we’ve got to move on, look forward to next year and an offseason of grinding to try to win it again.”