Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
Fate is an awfully funny thing. It could have just as easily been Mohamed Sanu in the Super Bowl for the 49ers as Emmanuel Sanders, and it nearly was.
During the 2019 trade deadline, the 49ers were outbid for Sanu by the New England Patriots (who offered a second-round pick) and pivoted to Sanders instead (for a third and swap of a fourth and a fifth). That worked out awfully well for them, and may have made Sanders a Super Bowl hero… if not for the most infamous overthrow in franchise history.
But after a tough season in New England, during which he suffered a bad ankle sprain on a punt return return, which he tried to play through, Sanu made his way back to the 49ers in 2020. He underwent ankle surgery before the season, though, and didn’t quite look like himself, with the Patriots cutting him. San Francisco swooped in, and he remained on the roster for all of three-and-a-half weeks.
He clearly wasn’t the same during that first stint in Santa Clara, and said Saturday that he was aware of that, harboring no ill will when the 49ers cut him at the start of October.
“I understood. I’m a football player and I’ve got common sense too,” Sanu said. “I’m a realist. If I knew I was at my best and, and they cut me then I would’ve been like, ‘Damn.’ But I wasn’t and I knew that so I had to go and get right.”
That common sense capacity didn’t go unnoticed or unappreciated by Kyle Shanahan. He kept an eye on Sanu in Detroit, who signed him; he went on to play in 10 games there, catching 16 passes for 178 yards and one touchdown.
“I was honest with him and he understood. And so what’s cool about Mo, he’s the man,” Shanahan said. “You can be honest with him. He doesn’t take anything personally. He knows this business and that’s why it was so cool to watch him at Detroit at the end of the year where I thought he got a chance because he wasn’t in New England’s camp, came to ours, I think Week One or Two and got to play there a little bit.
I think he got more into shape and I thought he played at a much higher level at the end of the year at Detroit. And when he hit us up over the summer telling us how good he was and how good a shape he was in, he’s a guy we believe. He doesn’t really usually tell you that, just to tell you that. And it’s been accurate so far.”
Even in that brief, three-plus-week with the 49ers, Sanu built a bond with their stellar young wideouts, Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. Samuel likened it to the mentorship he and Kendrick Bourne had with Sanders in 2019. Both he and Aiyuk admitted that the were aggrieved by the decision to cut Sanu, which likely hurt more given the plethora of challenges players were already facing last season.
“I love Mo,” Aiyuk said. “Mo was somebody that I gravitated towards early from first day he came up to me, so it was pretty upsetting to see him go. I still kept in contact. I’m still learning from him and then to have him back this season, seeing him in great shape, even better than where he was at last year, just being able to talk to him about certain things he’s been through.”
Aiyuk said he values Sanu’s experience working with elite receivers like Julio Jones, Roddy White and Calvin Ridley, as well as being a talented receiver himself. Sanu has been a fountain of information as far as the ins-and-outs of the daily minutiae — training, rehab, treatment, etc. — which players have to learn to manage.
But Sanu isn’t just an old head, or some veteran voice to keep around. The receiver room has receiver coach Wes Welker for that.
The revelation of Sanu is that he is healthy. That’s a necessity for any receiver, but especially for him, now age 31.
He’s an extremely long strider with a unique approach to creating space. When you see him now versus where he was at in his last stint, it’s hard to believe you’re looking at the same player. Sanu almost glides through his first few long strides, then plants and explodes with suddenness to separate from defensive backs. He’s been an immediate favorite with all the 49ers’ quarterbacks, and is without question the No. 3 on the depth chart.
Mohamed Sanu is taking advantage of his opportunities in training camp ? #49ers || #FTTB
?: @49ers pic.twitter.com/T1rW7t6VVW— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers_) August 1, 2021
It took a couple of years, but it seems Sanu has finally found a comfortable spot back with Kyle Shanahan, looking every bit like his old self.
And it happened of Sanu’s own volition. Because Shanahan — the now-notorious FaceTime-only caller — has a relationship with Sanu from their time together in Atlanta, he said he has a pretty good sense of when Sanu is feeling good. And when Sanu called him over the summer, Shanahan said he could tell he was in shape.
That call set things in motion, and Sanu returned to Santa Clara on a reported one-year, $1.14 million deal. Right now, that looks like a crucial, bargain move.
When you looked at the depth chart entering the offseason, there was no way to feel like the room wasn’t thin. Sure, Jalen Hurd might become the dominant player he flashed for all of three weeks in his first training camp, but he hasn’t played in two years and is yet to take a rep in team drills. Let’s see if the man can get through a practice, let alone a week of practices, then a preseason game before we anoint him.
We also don’t know what Jauan Jennings is because he missed his chance last season due to injury and is currently out on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. Richie James Jr. is the only other receiver in the room who you can say is likely to make the roster. After him, it’s Kevin White, Nate Sherfield, Austin Watkins Jr., Nsimba Webster, Travis Benjamin and River Cracraft.
As Shanahan said Monday, no one in that latter group has separated themselves; he said the same thing fairly often in the lead up to the 49ers trading for Sanders back in 2019.
Suddenly, though, receiver depth doesn’t seem like a massive worry because Sanu is the clear replacement for Bourne. He’s the obvious slot man who should be able to produce if he looks like he does right now, especially in that third-down role Bourne excelled at. With both Samuel and Aiyuk looking healthy, you’ve got a legitimate trident.
The depth behind that group is exceedingly unreliable, but you can weather that without pulling the trigger on a trade or a semi-pricey straggling free agent thanks to the reinvigorated Sanu.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a player or coach who’s not full of praise for Sanu at this point. Given the way he’s looked in OTAs and through the first block of training camp, it’s hard not to buy into it.
“I think he’s in such a better spot,” Shanahan said. “I think you ask our players and anybody who’s watched him here. It looks like the guy I remember, and not the guy that we had for that those week and a half or whatever it was, and looked great today too. So hopefully can keep it up and keep it going.”