Tom Brady Says Mohamed Sanu 'Brings a Lot of Juice' After Patriots Trade

Following the New England Patriots' trade for Mohamed Sanu this week, quarterback Tom Brady praised the veteran wideout Friday.

According to NFL.com's Grant Gordon, Brady said:

"I think it's his willingness to embrace this opportunity. He brings a lot of juice, so it's good to have. It's good to see someone that's competitive. If you watch him play, he plays with an attitude. He's got a little chip on his shoulder too, so I think we can relate to each other. And he can relate to a guy like Julian [Edelman], because he was often overlooked in his career, and I think he plays that way."

Prior to placing wide receiver Josh Gordon on injured reserve with a knee injury and effectively ending his tenure with the Pats, New England acquired Sanu from the Atlanta Falcons for a 2020 second-round pick.

The 30-year-old Sanu spent the first four seasons of his career with the Cincinnati Bengals before spending the past four seasons in Atlanta. After enjoying a career year last season with 66 receptions for 838 yards and four touchdowns, Sanu had 33 receptions for 313 yards and one score in seven games this season prior to the deal.

With receivers Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley and tight end Austin Hooper commanding much of quarterback Matt Ryan's attention, Sanu was at times a fourth option in the passing game.

In New England, he has a chance to be the top outside option at receiver, which has been a thin spot for the Patriots this season. With both Gordon and rookie first-round pick N'Keal Harry on IR, Phillip Dorsett and undrafted rookie Jakobi Meyers are Sanu's only competition for outside targets, while Edelman will continue to be the go-to guy out of the slot.

Sanu and Brady already seem to have a strong rapport, as Sanu said Friday that Brady jokingly offered him his No. 12 jersey:

Brady has lost a number of weapons via injury and retirement (tight end Rob Gronkowski) before and during the season, so adding a 6'2" downfield playmaker in Sanu should help the Pats offense keep up with their shutdown defense.

For Sanu, he goes from a 1-6 Falcons squad all but certainly out of the playoff hunt to a 7-0 Pats wrecking crew coming off a Super Bowl win the season prior.