Broncos trade WR Sanders to 49ers
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Emmanuel Sanders arrived in what he called “wide receiver heaven” in 2014 and with Peyton Manning throwing him passes, he certainly found bliss in Denver, where he became a champion and a bona fide NFL star.
On Tuesday, he escaped what had become wide receiver purgatory when the Broncos (2-5) granted his trade request and sent him to the unbeaten San Francisco 49ers (6-0).
Now he’ll team up with QB Jimmy Garoppolo and play at Levi’s Stadium, site of the Broncos’ Super Bowl triumph over the Carolina Panthers.
Broncos GM John Elway intimated that he soured on Sanders “with what happened after the Tennessee game” Oct. 13 when Sanders left at halftime of a 16-0 Denver victory with what was described as a knee injury.
Asked to elaborate, Elway declined, saying, “Nope. I’m not going into that.”
Sanders caught one pass for zero yards on three targets that day. The week before, he was targeted just once, for a 9-yard catch, in a win over the Chargers, and 48 hours after Elway had declared none of his veterans were on the trading block. Elway confirmed Sanders asked out of Denver.
“He did. When we look at it, Emmanuel had issues and we had issues,” Elway said. “So that’s why it was a good time for us to go different directions. With that being said, we were able to get the value that we thought was fair and so that’s why we decided to make the deal.”
The 49ers sent Denver 2020 third- and fourth-round draft picks for Sanders and a fifth-round pick next year.