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The Patriots have submitted a one-year offer sheet on restricted free agent WR Emmanuel Sanders.
By tendering Sanders at the third-round level and leaving themselves with under $3 million in cap room, the Steelers are at risk of the rare restricted free agent loss. They'll have five days to match the offer and may be able to, but they'd have to do more restructuring (likely of Troy Polamalu) that'd further bludgeon their cap situation down the line. The Patriots, meanwhile, are intent on aggressively remaking their receiver corps after moving on from Wes Welker and Brandon Lloyd. If the Steelers don't match, New England will hand over a third-round pick (No. 91 overall) in this month's draft and likely try to sign Sanders -- who turned 26 in March -- to a long-term deal.
Source: Jason La Canfora on Twitter
By tendering Sanders at the third-round level and leaving themselves with under $3 million in cap room, the Steelers are at risk of the rare restricted free agent loss. They'll have five days to match the offer and may be able to, but they'd have to do more restructuring (likely of Troy Polamalu) that'd further bludgeon their cap situation down the line. The Patriots, meanwhile, are intent on aggressively remaking their receiver corps after moving on from Wes Welker and Brandon Lloyd. If the Steelers don't match, New England will hand over a third-round pick (No. 91 overall) in this month's draft and likely try to sign Sanders -- who turned 26 in March -- to a long-term deal.
Source: Jason La Canfora on Twitter