© Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
One of the defining questions the 49ers’ front office will have to answer this offseason is whether Emmanuel Sanders will return. San Francisco has limited cap space even before negotiating extensions with George Kittle and DeForest Buckner and deciding what to do with Arik Armstead and Jimmie Ward.
Niners Nation writer Kyle Posey tweeted on Monday that the 49ers offered Sanders a lowball offer of $5-6 million less than he wanted. He added that he was trying to figure out the “exact numbers/years on the deal.”
Per source#, the Niners offered Sanders roughly $5-6 million a year less than he wanted. I’m trying to find out the exact numbers/years on the deal. But yeah, he’s gone unless a lot changes over the next week or so https://t.co/YNiygFs2pd
— KP ? (@KP_Show) March 9, 2020
Sanders quickly rejected that, saying that he hasn’t received any offer and that talks haven’t been had.
Dude you’re making up stuff out of your ass. ? no offer has been sent and no talks have been made. Bad reporting at its finest smh https://t.co/WFoPMYD2jm
— Emmanuel Sanders (@ESanders_10) March 9, 2020
Posey had earlier posted a story to the site which claimed Sanders was all but out the door based solely on the premise that Sanders had changed his Instagram profile picture from a photo of him in a 49ers uniform to his logo, “E.” The speculation, which, again, deducted that Sanders will not re-sign with the 49ers due to the fact that he has a new social media photo, preceded this “report” that Sanders is unlikely to return to Santa Clara.
This also comes as NFL teams are largely in a holding pattern while they wait for a player vote on the new collective bargaining agreement, due by March 14.
Text from NFL exec in regards to looming CBA decision: "It's really hard to do business when you don't know what the rules are."
— ig: josinaanderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 9, 2020
Head coach Kyle Shanahan made clear that he wants Sanders back at the NFL Combine.
“I would love for anything to have Emmanuel [Sanders] back — bad,” Shanahan said. “But we got to see how that plays out.”
Sanders fundamentally changed the complexion of the 49ers’ offense, and raised the level of play from his young cohorts, Deebo Samuel and Kendrick Bourne.
While the impact of veteran leadership can sometimes be overblown, it was clear from the moment that Sanders arrived that he had a tangible impact on the both of them. Samuel became a viable option and yards after catch nightmare for defenses, while Bourne became one of the game’s best third-down threats.
It’s unclear what the market for Sanders will look like. The 32-year-old, 10-year veteran said during the season that the 49ers might be his favorite place that he’s ever played and after the season concluded, he said he’s, “really enjoyed this organization.”
When Sanders was introduced, he said he prioritized winning in where he would sign, and confirmed after the season ended that he viewed the 49ers as a place set up to continue winning.
“Once I become a free agent, obviously yeah, [winning] is going to factor in a lot,” Sanders said in October. “A lot of people don’t understand, yeah the money’s good, I’ve made my fair share of that, but I think it’s it’s about happiness. It’s about happiness, it’s about, is it worth it? Because for me, if I’m just playing for the money and then we talk about longevity, it’s not worth it for me. I love playing football, I love being happy, I love winning games and I think that’s going to be definitely the ultimate deciding factor of where I go.”