RFA Emmanuel Sanders visits Pats 3/16; signs offer sheet 4/10, sheet matched 4/14

[Don Kipines]

It's a weird move on many levels.

The short-money, one-year offer makes sense when the target is someone like Rodney Bailey and the risk is a sixth-rounder in a draft when you have a full slate of picks. But if you're risking a third-rounder and tying up your cap space for five days, wouldn't you want to make very sure you got the player, not just for the long term but for next year?

It sounds to me like Pittsburgh will almost have to match. If they don't, they're in worse shape than us in terms of a receiving corps. We could have scared them off for sure with a longer-term deal with a little more upfront money. Maybe Sanders wouldn't go for that (as is, we're just giving him a raise for next year -- he doesn't have to give up UFA years). Maybe we're doing this to build goodwill with him for next year. Either way, to sign an RFA without being reasonably sure of the outcome, that's really odd.

Maybe something else is in the works -- a player trade with Pitt for instance? They could really use someone like Marcus Cannon. Otherwise this whole thing is really bizarre.

 

[JMC00]

What is not included in the PFT article is he tweeted this 10 minutes after

Ed Werder ‏@Edwerderespn
What could prevent Steelers from matching Pats on Emmanual Sanders? Only 3 teams have less cap space. Pick No. 91 may tempt GM Kevin Colbert

Werder kind of underminds his "expect the Steelers to match" statement with that.

 

[DocHoliday]

Seems like a way to stick to the Steelers more than a way to get Sanders.

Who knew the offseason could be so full of mystique and intrigue?

 

[mgteich]

It would take one restructure (out of the many that are possible) for PITT to match and have the cap money they need for Sanders and enough to hold them until June 1st.

The OPEN question is whether PITT would rather have the 3rd for less money or have Sanders. I don't know the answer. Sadly, if the don't match, I'm not at all sure that we got a good deal. A 3rd is expensive for a marginal rent-a-player. I'd MUCH rather have Lloyd than Sanders on a 1-year deal.

His 1.3 mill current tender would go toawrds the new deal, and they currently have 2 mill. in space. That leaves like 700,000$ to come up with. they won't have any issues doing that.
They are also getting close to 5 mill. back on June 1st for the O lineman they cut ( Willie Colon). That will more than pay their rookie class.

 

[Ivan]

The 1 year aspect of the deal actually works kind of like a poison pill because it ends up a 1 year rental for the Steelers at a price they probably don't want to pay. The third rounder has to be tempting to the Steelers in this scenario. interesting approach by the Patriots.

 

[Rob0729]

What is not included in the PFT article is he tweeted this 10 minutes after

Ed Werder ‏@Edwerderespn
What could prevent Steelers from matching Pats on Emmanual Sanders? Only 3 teams have less cap space. Pick No. 91 may tempt GM Kevin Colbert

Werder kind of underminds his "expect the Steelers to match" statement with that.

I saw this on ESPN:

ESPN's Ed Werder is reporting that the Pittsburgh Steelers are expected to match the offer sheet the New England Patriots offered to receiver Emmanuel Sanders. That is unless they don't match the offer sheet.

 

[FoxboroFlyer]

It would take one restructure (out of the many that are possible) for PITT to match and have the cap money they need for Sanders and enough to hold them until June 1st.

The OPEN question is whether PITT would rather have the 3rd for less money or have Sanders. I don't know the answer. Sadly, if the don't match, I'm not at all sure that we got a good deal. A 3rd is expensive for a marginal rent-a-player. I'd MUCH rather have Lloyd than Sanders on a 1-year deal.

I agree completely.
Didn't like this route in the beginning, and I still don't like it now.
Sanders is way over rated (imo).
Maybe BB knows something about him we don't though.

 

[Miguel]

So as long as the new contract has equal to or more first year money its okay?

That is my take on it. There may be a side agreement to the CBA that says otherwise, though.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Right now I think belichick is comfortable going into the season as is. While there are certainly places I want upgraded or added long term prospects (s, de, dt, cb, wr) none of which are desperate needs. We are now in position to take luxury picks or trade for the future.

We trade back unless a value is too good to pass up, just like it always is. Chandler and Hightower were anomalies. I'm sure they had them way higher on their board than where we got them.

I'd still call CB and DE desperate needs.

 

[Deus Irae]

...The OPEN question is whether PITT would rather have the 3rd for less money or have Sanders. I don't know the answer...

WR with foot/leg issues, and who's team board is split about keeping, with the split seeming to lean towards letting him go, saving the money and taking the pick...

Sanders Signs Offer with Pats - Page 15

 

[Patsgofor4]

I saw this on ESPN:

Werder is guessing. Doubt that he knows the $$ involved or has any real inside info. Useless tweet from a guy trying to stay relevant. Perhaps it is best to only reference tweets or articles that give us more info/insight than any Patsfans.com poster can offer.

 

[Miguel]

Thanks for giving us the appropriate info on this, Miguel. Now would you mind telling us WTF it means!

Now I'm reading it, that as long as the Pats don't lower the compensation, they can renegotiate it anytime, but whenever I read documents with the phrase "pursuant to subsection c", I have found things are not always as clear as it seems.

My take is that as long as the new contract has equal to or more first year money then it is okay

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Werder is guessing. Doubt that he knows the $$ involved or has any real inside info. Useless tweet from a guy trying to stay relevant. Perhaps it is best to only reference tweets or articles that give us more info/insight than any Patsfans.com poster can offer.

The rumor is that it's 1 year 4 million. Steelers won't be able to match that. Evenif they could, why pay someone 4 million per 1 year, only to see them become an UFA next year?

 

[Miguel]

What he doesn't say is how exactly they plan on doing that.

Right now the Steelers are reportedly $2.5MM under the cap. I've read where their rookie cap number is over $3.5MM, so they have work to do before the draft just to be able to sign their own draft picks let alone match the Pats offer.

IIRC the 3rd round tender was about $1.5MM, so if the Pats one year offer is around $3MM, they are going to have come up with about $3MM more in savings just to be able to match and sign their rookies, and then be left with NOTHING in reserve for the rest of the season.

However if they don't match, they gain that $1.5MM in cap room, and have enough to sign their rookies, Then can do a couple of restructures so they can add some players after June 1, and/or go into the season with a couple of Million in reserve.

If Ed Werter is saying they Steelers are going to match, I'm not seeing how they do it without hurting themselves down the road

Your analysis is not including the fact that the Steelers will gain cap space on June 2nd when Willie Colon's 2013 $5.5 million salary comes off their books.

 

[JMC00]

WR with foot/leg issues]

That played 16 games last year

 

[lillloyd]

Here's my (Steelers' fan) perspective: while it's not an easy decision, I ultimately hope the Steelers do NOT match, given the circumstances.

I'm a bit surprised that NE is willing to part with a 3rd rounder for potentially a one-year rental. (I can understand a "win-now" mentality for Brady, but that doesn't gel with the Welker/Amendola swap...I still don't understand why that went down the way it did?)

Regarding the Steelers' ability to match, see below (the guy who runs Steelers Depot is excellent at monitoring Pitt's up-to-date cap situation):

Options Steelers Have To Create Cap Room Should They Want To Keep Emmanuel Sanders | Steelers Depot

I think he raises the key point--it's not so much a matter of *can* they match, but rather, is Pittsburgh willing to mess with their cap situation further, for the right to have to redo this again with Sanders in 12 months? When healthy, Sanders is a nice WR, with maybe the potential to be more than that...but he has an injury history, and a lot of the intrigue around him has to do with projections and potential, not actual production.

Here's another perspective from the same guy at Steelers Depot--I think I'm higher on Sanders than he is, and I don't know if we can keep hitting on WRs with 3rd and 6th rounders like we have with Wallace/Brown/Sanders, even in a supposedly good draft for wideouts....but core the argument's roughly the same:

Don’t Expect Steelers To Match Patriots Offer Sheet To Emmanuel Sanders | Steelers Depot

 

[Patsgofor4]

I suspect that Sanders and the Pats already have a handshake agreement about a multi-year deal but the one year initial offer makes things more difficult for Pitt in the short term.

I think that Pitt can find the cash to match if they are motivated to do so but it will come down to how much they value Sanders and how many contracts they are willing to restructure. Teams try to avoid restructuring too many contracts and Pitt has already restructured Roth and Woodley this offseason, to free up cap space. Pitt also still has some major holes to fill and I doubt that they will depend on rookies to fill them all (ie. they are likely not done spending on vets in FA). Finally, Pitt's front office has a keen eye for WR talent in the draft.

 

[Deus Irae]

That played 16 games last year

How does that somehow erase his history of foot/leg issues?

Emmanuel Sanders Says He’s 100% Healthy & Feeling Good | Steelers Depot

 

[voluntarysaftey]

The rumor is that it's 1 year 4 million. Steelers won't be able to match that. Evenif they could, why pay someone 4 million per 1 year, only to see them become an UFA next year?

If this is true, I find it a pretty horrible deal. It basically means we traded Lloyd and a 3rd rounder for Sanders. Sanders better be pretty damn good for that kind of exchange.

 

[Patsgofor4]

Your analysis is not including the fact that the Steelers will gain cap space on June 2nd when Willie Colon's 2013 $5.5 million salary comes off their books.

Miguel, I thought that teams must have enough cap room to sign their draft picks by the time of the draft? Not true?