Cleveland Browns: 3 veteran NFL free agents who could help the team
By Chad Porto
WR Mohamed Sanu
When the New England Patriots traded a second-round pick for Mohamed Sanu, the expectation on this veteran was that he’d be able to offset countless injuries on the New England Patriots team and give Tom Brady a real threat in the passing game. Sanu only had 207 yards in eight games with the Patriots. For how little they got out of him, the fact he had about 500 yards for 2019 across two teams, and how much it cost them, it was obvious the Patriots were done with the Sano-experiment.
He was brought in to carry a lot of the load and deal with the primary corners for a lot of 2019, in a system he was just flung into, with a declining quarterback. While Sanu didn’t look great, it wasn’t all his fault. In Cleveland, he’d be the third receiver at best. With the team still in need of a worthwhile third wide-out who could maybe play in the slot, Sanu may be the perfect option.
He’s never had big stats across a season and during his days in Cincinnati with the Bengals and as a member of the Atlanta Falcons, Sanu was never a top receiver. He was a third or second type of guy and he excelled in those roles. He had four seasons of 690+ yards and even if he only gathers 400-odd yards as a Browns receiver, that’d be enough if he was just the third receiver option on the team.
The team has enough pass-catchers without needing a third receiver, with guys like Kareem Hunt, Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, Austin Hooper, and Harrison Bryant. So to assume that the team needs Sanu isn’t exactly true. Yet, the team will run three-receiver sets, and Sanu, on paper, is a better option than incumbent Rashard Higgins.