3:20pm: Sanu will visit the Falcons tonight, ESPN.com’s Vaughn McClure reports (on Twitter), with an agreement possible during that summit. The Falcons were initially offering the versatile wideout $30MM over five years, per Mike Garofolo of Fox Sports (via Twitter). Although Garofolo isn’t certain of the parameters of Atlanta’s most recent pitch to Sanu, he confirms the fifth-year receiver will visit.
3:05pm: A deal is not yet finalized between Sanu and the Falcons, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. However, Sanu is expected to visit Atlanta at some point and could sign a contract then.
1:53pm: The Falcons have emerged as the favorites to land receiver Mohamed Sanu, as they’re offering more than $7MM per year, tweets Dianna Marie Russini of ESPN.com (Twitter link). A long list of clubs have expressed interest in Sanu, including the Giants, Patriots, Cowboys, Buccaneers, and Washington.
The Bengals lost Marvin Jones to the Lions on Wednesday morning and it sounds like they could conceivably lose their other top wide receiver to free agency. Jones netted an average annual value of $8MM and it has been speculated that Sanu could command $5MM/year, particularly because of the lack of talent at the position in this year’s crop, but it looks like he’ll garner significantly more than that estimate. In 2014, Sanu hauled in 56 catches for 790 yards and five touchdowns. Last year, however, he saw a dip in production with just 33 catches for 394 yards and no touchdowns.
Sanu earned honorable mention on PFR’s Top 50 List of NFL Free Agents. At the wide receiver position, Sanu was ranked as the No. 7 wide receiver available, behind Jones, Travis Benjamin, Rishard Matthews, Rueben Randle, Anquan Boldin, and Jermaine Kearse.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.