Emmanuel Sanders Says He Would Have 'Won Some World Championships' With Patriots
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- People love to play "What If?" games, if only to scratch a personal itch. Patriots fans love to make the "Brady could have 7 rings" argument, but there are haters and trolls lurking out there who have TB12 winning zero Super Bowls if Mo Lewis never put a crater in Drew Bledsoe's chest.
Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders offered a delicious taste of "What If?" to reporters at San Jose for the Super Bowl, reflecting fondly on the opportunity to join the Patriots as a free agent in 2013 and what could have been had he signed with New England.
"It was definitely a cool opportunity," Sanders said, according to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. "I still remember when my agent called me and said the Patriots were going to offer me an offer sheet. It was pretty cool, but it didn't end up working out. I think if it would have worked out, I think I would have [signed] over there, and we would have won some world championships and it would have been awesome. But God is good now, and I'm playing for this great organization in the Broncos and having an opportunity to hopefully win my first Super Bowl."
The 'world championships' part hurts. Even though the Patriots ended up winning Super Bowl XLIX with Brandon LaFell and Julian Edelman doing a fine job filling Sanders' presumed role in the offense, they could have signed the now-Broncos receiver in 2013 when he played for the Pittsburgh Steelers. They agreed to terms with Sanders on a one-year, $2.5 million offer sheet in April of 2013, which the Steelers matched.
The painful part, if you recall, is that the Steelers entered the 2013 offseason in trouble with the salary cap. Several expensive contracts, including those of Ben Roethlisberger and Troy Polamalu, left the team in a tough spot to sign free agents. The Patriots could have practically priced the Steelers out of the deal if they went for an extra million or two with Sanders, but instead made it fairly easy for Pittsburgh to retain the receiver.
Sanders has been outstanding for the Broncos since signing a three-year, $15 million deal with them in 2014, and is playing in his second Super Bowl in three seasons. He has shown how his impeccable route running, ball skills and toughness could have been a great fit with the Patriots - especially, specifically in the 2013 season when Tom Brady's lack of weapons ultimately doomed them.
If only the Steelers didn't match that offer sheet, Champ Bailey didn't pick off that pass, Bernard Pollard and T.J. Ward didn't exist, and Reche Caldwell, Asante Samuel, and Wes Welker caught the ball, Brady and Belichick might have about 14 Super Bowls. If only.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
