Veteran WR Sanders retires after 12-year NFL career

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Emmanuel Sanders would rather chase his young kids around now than hunt down any more passes over the middle.

The veteran wide receiver announced his retirement Wednesday after a 12-year NFL career that included six seasons in Denver, where he helped the Broncos win Super Bowl 50.

“The game of football is tough on the body, and you know I lost a close friend in Demaryius Thomas,“who died last December of a seizure, Sanders said. “And for me, it’s about longevity of life now. I had a heck of a career, 12 years, three Super Bowls. I feel like what else do I have to prove?

“I wake up in the morning, drop the kids off at school. I’m making sandwiches for my daughter. I see the beauty in that,” Sanders said. “And I’m happy. So for me, there’s never really a ‘right’ time to hang it up. But I’m happy to hang it up now.”

Sanders said he plans to do some television broadcasting in retirement.

Sanders started his career in Pittsburgh in 2010 as a third-round pick out of SMU and he joined the Broncos as a free agent in 2014 after coming close to signing with the rival Chiefs — he was at their headquarters about to sign with Kansas City when John Elway called him with a better offer.

Teaming up with Thomas and Peyton Manning, he called Denver “wide receiver heaven” upon his arrival in Colorado and over the next three years he’d catch 279 passes for 3,847 yards and 21 touchdowns.

He played in three Super Bowls, with the Steelers as a rookie, the Broncos and the 49ers, who acquired him from Denver midway through the 2019 season.