No one is saying that the New England Patriots desperately need help with their passing game. As long as Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski are on the field, the team is in pretty good shape in that department. But it couldn't hurt to give Brady, who turns 39 in August, another weapon at wide receiver.
Outside of Julian Edelman, he just doesn't have many playmakers at the position. No disrespect to Danny Amendola or Aaron Dobson, but New England could use some extra punch there. Lucky for them, free agency offers the perfect opportunity to fill that hole.
Former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Mohamed Sanu and the Patriots have expressed mutual interest in one another in free agency. But as is customary in these situations, money will be the ultimate deciding factor. Several teams have expressed interest in Sanu as this year's free agent class of wide receivers is thin, especially after the Detroit Lions landed Marvin Jones. The Patriots were reportedly one of the finalists for Jones' services, but have now turned their attention elsewhere. Any team intent on signing Sanu may have to fork over as much as $5 million per year. Would Bill Belichick be willing to do that?
Back in 2014, Belichick signed Brandon LaFell to a three-year, $9 million deal and it's hard to see New England topping that framework by much. Things get particularly tricky when you look at Sanu's recent production. In 2014, the Rutgers product had a breakout campaign with 56 receptions for 790 yards and five touchdowns. This past season, however, saw his production dip to 33 catches for 394 yards and no scores for the first time in his career. Sure, the injury to quarterback Andy Dalton didn't help matters, but Sanu collected just eight catches for 67 yards in A.J. McCarron's four games as a replacement. That's not going to help his bargaining position.
On top of that, the Patriots like to keep a clear financial alignment of their depth chart. It's unlikely that they would offer Sanu more than the four-years, $17 million Edelman received in 2014. Of course, they could always give Edelman a well-deserved raise, but that's a story for a different day.
As things stand now, the Patriots are in the running for Sanu's services. Players will officially be allowed to sign once the new league year starts at 4 pm ET later today.
