If the best sports trades satisfy everybody, Mohamed Sanu’s recent move looks like it fits the maxim.
NFL executives described the recent trade that sent the wide receiver from the Atlanta Falcons to the New England Patriots as a “win-win” for both teams, according to The Athletic’s Mike Sando.
Sanu bolsters New England’s wide receiver corps as the Patriots look to repeat as Super Bowl champions, while the Falcons will hope to add an impact player with the second-round draft pick they acquired in exchange for the 30-year-old.
Here’s why the NFL executives believe the Sanu deal makes sense for the two teams headed in opposite directions:
“I think it’s a win for both sides,” an exec told Sando. “New England would have been helped by a tight end a little more, or even a lineman, but Sanu is a New England-type guy. He’s a worker, a glue guy, mentally tough, so I get it. And I think Atlanta won because a second-round pick at this stage of that guy’s career is really high for a guy who can’t run, and who was drafted out of targets anyway by the development of Calvin Ridley.”
Some observers criticized the Patriots for sending their second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft to the Falcons for Sanu, especially in light of reports claiming the San Francisco 49ers were offering Atlanta a third-round pick. However, one executive believes the Patriots’ success (and accompanying low draft picks) prompts teams to charge them an extra fee for players and that the Sanu trade followed this pattern.
“People say, ‘Oh, a two,’ but if anybody else offers a three, they have to offer a two,” an executive told Sando. “That’s fine. There has been a lot of talk there about their offense sucking, so I thought that trade made sense for both teams.”
Sanu caught two passes for 23 yards last Sunday in his Patriots debut. Although those numbers are modest, the fact these and other NFL executives think so highly of the trade suggests the Patriots should expect the veteran wideout to become increasingly valuable to their cause.
