The New England Patriots made a bold move by giving restricted free agent wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders an offer sheet earlier in the offseason, but with time running out on a decision, the Pittsburgh Steelers decided to keep the wideout by matching the one-year, $2.5 million offer.
According to ESPN.com, the Steelers had until just before midnight on Sunday to match the offer and the team decided to do it rather than receive a third-round pick in return from the Patriots for making the deal. During the past week quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said publicly that he wanted the team to keep the receiver and they decided to do so. The move is something similar in nature to what the Patriots did not do this offseason, when Tom Brady said he wanted the team to keep wideout Wes Welker, who is now with the Broncos.
The move gives some changes to the Patriots draft plans and now they can target a number of players, including Tavon Austin, Tyler Eifert, D.J. Hayden and Matt Elam. The team also could try to go after Tim Tebow, as he could give a very interesting wrinkle to the offense under Bill Belichick and if anyone can help him its his old coach that drafted him in Josh McDaniels.
Sanders is in line to be a free agent after next season and in the process the Steelers kept hold of one of their top receivers. The team placed a tender on him due to their tight salary cap situation and was forced to match the deal after the offer from the Patriots. Teams around the league often do not make offers to restricted free agents, but the Patriots have a need at wide receiver after losing Welker and Brandon Lloyd.
The team currently has Danny Amendola, Julian Edelman, Matthew Slater, Donald Jones and Michael Jenkins and the team could look to the draft to add more players at the position. The 26-year-old Sanders had a career season in 2012 with 44 receptions and he has consistently been one of the fastest players on the team and could be in line for a big season after the Steelers lost wideout Mike Wallace to the Miami Dolphins.
"Glad the business side is out of the way," Sanders wrote on Twitter. "Now its back to playing football and bringing number 7 back to Pittsburgh. Love!!! #Steelernation."
The Patriots have done a solid job in the draft at adding receivers and the team could also look at tight end after the complications with Rob Gronkowski's arm injury. The team could go after one of the top two tight ends in Tyler Eifert or Zach Ertz, as well as receiver options like Robert Woods, Tavon Austin, Ryan Swope or Kenny Stills. In the past the Patriots have found value late in the draft with receivers, including David Givens, Brandon Tate, Taylor Price and Chad Jackson.
The team was ranked fourth in passing last season with over 290 yards per game and had the number one ranked offense in the league. Behind Tom Brady the Patriots were high powered on offense and they were balanced while ranking seventh in rushing yards per game with over 130 per game. Wes Welker led the team with 118 catches, but that consistency will be gone for Tom Brady and the Patriots are hoping that new free agent Danny Amendola can make up for it.
