Should the Atlanta Falcons trade WR Mohamed Sanu?

Could Atlanta Falcons WR Mohamed Sanu be traded before the start of the 2019 season? We explore the idea and possible destinations.

The Atlanta Falcons have many options at the wide receiver position. As of now the depth chart has Juilo Jones and Mohamed Sanu number one and two respectfully. Second year stud Calvin Ridley is the third string receiver in the slot position with backups Justin Hardy and Russell Gage rounding out the bottom.

Sanu is coming off of the best season of his career, posting 838 yards with 68 receptions. Though with Calvin Ridley having a phenomenal rookie season with 64 receptions and 821 yards, it’s a matter of when, not if, he will become the starter next to Julio Jones.

If the Falcons feel good about Ridley moving there now, why wait?

I think the Falcons could get the most value in a trade for Sanu since he’s coming off a career season. It would also help save some money for a team that’s pressed against the salary cap. The Falcons roughly have $6.5 million in cap space available and that number should increase slightly with Grady Jarrett being re-signed to a long term extension.

Sanu’s cap hit for 2019 is $7.65 million and they have a potential out if they choose to trade him, only taking on $2.8 million of dead money. That would save about $4.85 million to resign other players to extensions like Julio Jones and Deion Jones. They would still need to make more room to lock up their quality starters but its a step in the right direction.

When Sanu is on the field he can take pressure off of Jones and Ridley and make the clutch plays. I’m thinking of the future with all the younger talent the Falcons want to keep in Atlanta for the next several seasons so they can contend for Super Bowls.

One factor if Sanu gets moved this offseason will be how 2018 sixth-round pick Russell Gage plays. He doesn’t have much playing time but his 40 yard dash time of 4.42 seconds was stellar.

That matches him with what Amari Cooper ran during his 40 time. Now there’s no telling if Gage can play at the level of Cooper, though his speed and his pass catching ability are worth noting. I think if Sanu is moved this helps Gage get more reps and playing time to see what he can bring to the table.

I believe if Sanu is traded this offseason the three most likely teams to land him would be the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, or the San Francisco 49ers. There are other teams with a bigger need for a receiver but these three teams make sense because they have young receivers that could use a solid number two receiver like Sanu.