Denver Broncos: Emmanuel Sanders trade fallout with 49ers

The Denver Broncos traded wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders to the San Francisco 49ers for draft picks. Here’s everything you need to know about the deal.

For the second consecutive year, the Denver Broncos have traded a wide receiver on an expiring contract ahead of the NFL’s trade deadline. This time, it’s Emmanuel Sanders, the 32-year old who was playing well (when targeted) coming off of a season-ending Achilles injury in 2018.

Last year, it was Demaryius Thomas, who was traded to the Houston Texans for a fourth-round pick.

Sanders, in a seller’s market, fetched the Broncos a heck of a deal. The trade was first reported by Mike Klis of 9News in Denver.

Here are the details:

Klis’ report was later confirmed by ESPN’s Adam Schefter and just about everyone else in Denver and in the national media.

The 49ers landed a top receiver for Kyle Shanahan’s offense, and the Broncos recouped very nicely in the draft capital department. let’s take a look at the trade a little more closely.

So what does this trade mean for the Broncos? What’s the fallout here? Obviously, Emmanuel Sanders was a good player, and if nothing else, he was drawing attention away from Courtland Sutton who has been having a breakout season for Denver.

Let’s look at the fallout from all aspects, draft, salary cap, roster, etc.

2020 NFL Draft

This trade means the Broncos are now among the richest teams in the NFL in terms of 2020 NFL Draft capital. There are already a number teams with multiple first-round picks, but the Broncos are loading up on top 100 capital.

1. 1st round (own)
2. 2nd round (own)
3. 3rd round (own)
4. 3rd round (from Pittsburgh)
5. 3rd round (from San Francisco)
6. 4th round (own)
7. 4th round (from San Francisco)
8. 5th round (projected comp pick — OL Billy Turner)
9. 6th round (from Washington — QB Case Keenum)
10. 7th round (from Patriots — CB Duke Dawson)
11. 7th round (projected comp pick — OL Max Garcia)
12. 7th round (projected comp pick — CB Tramaine Brock)

The Broncos have 12 projected picks in the 2020 NFL Draft, and even if they don’t get any of the projected compensatory picks they are slated to receive, they still have nine picks and seven picks in the top four rounds, five within the top 100 selections.

For a team needing an infusion of talent and depth, five top 100 picks are fantastic.

2019 cap space

The Broncos save $6.029 million in cap space by making this trade, per Spotrac.

The formula for figuring this out is pretty simple. Sanders’ base salary ($10.25 million) is traded to the 49ers. We’re in week eight of the 2019 season, so Sanders will be with the 49ers for 10 weeks.

$10.25 million / 17 weeks = (approximately )$602,941 per week.

$602,941 x 10 weeks = roughly $6.029 million.

That is what the Broncos save, and that is what the 49ers pay for Sanders this season.

This puts the Broncos at roughly $17.55 million in cap space right now.

2019 roster

Hello, DaeSean Hamilton.

The 2018 fourth-round pick is going to get a chance to shine as a starter opposite Courtland Sutton, just like he did last year at the end of his rookie season.

This could also mean the Broncos plan on bringing Tim Patrick back as one of their two IR-return players for the 2019 season.

We should also see increased opportunities for guys like Diontae Spencer, the punt returner who might be the fastest player on offense not named Phillip Lindsay, and Fred Brown, another speedy receiver who was initially signed to the Broncos’ practice squad.

The Broncos won’t have Patrick back for at least a few weeks though, so it will be interesting to see who they call up for the time being. They do have Trinity Benson on the practice squad.

More trades?

The Broncos are clearly willing to listen to strong offers for their players. We’ll see what happens with guys like Derek Wolfe, Adam Gotsis, and Chris Harris Jr. in the next week, but it’s obvious that if John Elway gets a strong offer, he’s going to listen and be willing to take it.

I would not be shocked if there are more trades on the horizon for the Broncos.