Should the Broncos exercise their option on Emmanuel Sanders?

Good morning, Broncos Country.

It’s not even the beginning of March and the Denver Broncos have already made two big moves prior to free agency. John Elway and the Broncos’ brass will certainly have many other key decisions to make as the offseason progresses. One of those measures of uncertainty revolve around wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders.

A key contributor for the franchise since signing as a free agent in 2014, Sanders has made two Pro-Bowl appearances and surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in three of his five seasons in Denver. Unfortunately, Sanders’ production has dipped the past two years due to poor quarterback play, as well as missing eight games due to injury — the most recent being an Achilles’ tear that negatively impacted the team’s ability to reach the playoffs.

Johnny Hart of 104.3 The Fan in Denver wrote an article asking whether or not the Broncos should approach Sanders about a contract restructure given the circumstances. Sanders is approaching the final year of his contract and given the aforementioned Hart’s hypothetical has some merit. Though that idea was quickly squashed by the veteran wideout on social media.

But the reality of the situation is this: it’s truly up to the Broncos’ front office as to whether or not they want to keep him in the first place — making a restructure at this point in time a rather moot discussion (since he isn’t remotely interested in the first place). That means the ball is firmly in Elway’s court, now we just have to wait and see what he does.

According to Broncos insider Mike Klis, the Broncos have until March 12th to decide whether or not they will pick up their team-option for his services in 2019. If they opt not to, that will leave the franchise’s wide receiver corps a bit thin with just Courtland Sutton, DaeSean Hamilton and Tim Patrick as noteworthy contributors moving forward. It appears that a youth movement at the position is already in motion.

The team already moved on from long-time veteran Demaryius Thomas last year in a mid-season trade with the Houston Texans. If Sanders were to be moved on from as well, the Broncos’ dynamic duo for half a decade would both be out of the Mile High City — but they would save over $10 million dollars in salary cap space. The advent of the free agency period brings a lot of uncertainty for players and teams league-wide. The Broncos are certainly no exception and are primed for a major roster overhaul moving forward with a new coaching regime set in stone.

In just a few short weeks, we will know whether or not Sanders has a future in Denver moving forward. The National Football League is undoubtedly a tough business. If this is indeed the end of Sanders’ career in the Mile High City — let’s be sure to thank him for his wonderful contributions on and off the field and wish him the best wherever he ends up.

What do you think Broncos Country? Should the Broncos exercise their team-option and keep Sanders on the roster in 2019 or move on from the veteran receiver? Make your voice heard by voting in the poll below and sounding off in the comments section.

As always, thank you for reading and here is today’s offering of Horse Tracks.

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