New England adds another piece, in Sanu, to explosive offense

B OSTON» The Patriots have done a lot of shuffling at receiver this season.

They are hoping Mohamed Sanu can provide some stability as they try to solidify their offense heading into a difficult part of their schedule.

The Patriots traded a secondround draft pick in 2020 to the Atlanta

Falcons for the eighth-year veteran, the teams announced Tuesday.

The trade came less than 24 hours after the Patriots blew out the New York Jets 33-0.

“See you soon,” quarterback Tom Brady tweeted to his newest receiver.

For New England, Sanu represents its latest attempt to give Brady another versatile receiver to throw to following the shortlived tenure of Antonio Brown.

The 30-year-old Sanu has 33 receptions for 313 yards, but only one touchdown so far this season. His opportunities to be more involved will almost certainly increase as he heads to the reigning Super Bowl champion Patriots (7-0) and to an offense that leads the league in scoring at nearly 32 points a game.

He had a career-high 67 catches for the Falcons in 2017 and followed up with 66 catches for a career-best 838 yards last season.

Sanu tweeted his excitement at joining the Patriots and thanked the Falcons organization, including owner Arthur Blank, general manager Thomas Dimitroff and coach Dan Quinn.

“I appreciate everything the organization has done for my family & I,” Sanu wrote on Twitter. “Mr. Blank, TD, Coach Q , & everyone through the organization, I am forever grateful for the opportunity.”

Sanu joins a receiving group that includes Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon, Phillip Dorsett, Jakobi Meyers and Gunner Olszewski. The Patriots also have N’Keal Harry, a firstround pick in this year’s draft who went on injured reserve after hurting an ankle during training camp. He is eligible to return to the roster in Week 9.