Bills sign Emmanuel Sanders: Fantasy football fallout for 2021

While the Buffalo Bills started the free agency negotiation period in utter silence, it didn’t take long for things to pick up. GM Brandon Beane made quick business of signing punter Matt Haack to a three-year deal, then followed it up with the truly big news of signing 34-year-old Emmanuel Sanders to a one-year deal worth $6 million. Sanders comes in as a replacement for John Brown not long after he was released to free up some cap space.

WR Emmanuel Sanders signing: Fantasy football impact

With Brown being released and signing with the Raiders, that made room for Beane to go out and grab an experienced WR like Emmanuel Sanders, who was recently officially released by the Saints. He joins a stacked receiving corps that includes Stefon Diggs, Gabriel Davis, and Cole Beasley.

Sanders averaged roughly 11.77 PPR fantasy points per game last year with the Saints, with his biggest output coming in Week 5 against the Chargers where he went for 122 receiving yards and 24.2 PPR points, his only game all season where he totaled 100+ yards. Sanders will most likely jump in behind Stefon Diggs in the pecking order at a WR2 position. He’s not the big superstar signing that Bills fans might have been hoping for, but he brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to an already talented Buffalo team.

Sanders may not break any records or perform quite as well as he did in his prime with the Broncos, but expect him to emerge as a decent option with his new team, especially when he should have no trouble adapting to Buffalo’s offense after team hopping a bit once he left the Broncos in 2019.