Emmanuel Sanders couldn’t help but wonder, “What if?”
The San Francisco 49ers’ career has been impressive, but he seems to believe his full potential is and was untapped. He wandered down a rabbit hole during Super Bowl Opening Night on Monday when asked about free agency in 2013 when the Patriots attempted to add him. They made an offer on him, but because Sanders was a restricted free agency, the Pittsburgh Steelers had the ability to match and retain him which they did.
“If I had went to New England, I probably would’ve been a Hall of Famer,” Sanders said Monday, per NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry. “I probably would’ve been a Hall of Famer. That was, what, my third year in the league? Tom (Brady) would’ve had, what, seven more years left? How many Super Bowls have they won from then? “But it didn’t work out. That’s not the plan that God wanted for me. I don’t regret anything. Year 10. Third Super Bowl. I’m blessed, man.”
Sanders was in Pittsburgh for four years (2010 to 2013) before joining the Denver Broncos from 2014 to the midpoint in 2019. This season, he joined the 49ers at the trade deadline. Coincidentally, New England was in the mix for Sanders again, but the team elected to acquire Mohamed Sanu, who is on a contract through 2020, for a second-round pick rather than add Sanders, whose deal expires this offseason, for a third-round pick.
That pending free agency status could bring Sanders and the Patriots together, finally. But before that speculation begins, he’s got a Super Bowl to win.
