Saints Fans Should Thank Bills for Not Signing Emmanuel Sanders at Start of Free Agency
By Brendan Balsamo
The New Orleans Saints have been struggling to find a reliably powerful second option to Michael Thomas at wide receiver for awhile. With their recent signing of Emmanuel Sanders, Drew Brees finally has a great second option to downfield, instead of attempting to throw rookie speedsters open, or relying too heavily on Ted Ginn Jr.
Earlier this offseason, however, rumors were circulating that the Buffalo Bills were highly interested in bringing Sanders up to New Era Field. Saints fans should thank their lucky stars that deal didn't come through.
Emmanuel Sanders asked Brandon Beane to let him sleep on the idea of joining the #Bills.
— Dan Fetes (@danfetes) April 1, 2020
Well, Beane knows that time is money and wasn't going to wait around to play second fiddle.
30 minutes later, Stefon Diggs was heading to Buffalo. https://t.co/4XZ8pKg9sM
Bills' general manager Brandon Beane wanted to sign Sanders, but when Sanders wanted time to think about the contract offer, Beane went and traded for former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs instead, ending any talks the two sides had, according to Sanders himself.
The Diggs trade happened on March 16, and several days later, Sanders signed with New Orleans. Thanks to Beane's ideology of "time equals money" and Sanders' desire to think about his deal with the Bills, the Saints now have another great wide receiver.
What do the #Saints have that the #Packers do not?
— 105.7FM The FAN (@1057FMTheFan) March 31, 2020
Emmanuel Sanders chose the Saints because they run a spread offense and are in a "Super Bowl or bust" situation. - The @Bill_Michaels Show pic.twitter.com/OveRLQz0Se
Now, Brees' spread offense has another important piece, and a final Super Bowl run for the legendary quarterback looks more realistic than once thought to be.